Abstract 12610: Renal Sympathetic Denervation Modulates Ventricular Electrophysiology and Arrhythmogenesis

Introduction: Previous studies suggest that renal sympathetic nerves can modulate central sympathetic tone. Recently, a beneficial effect of renal sympathetic denervation (RSD) has been seen in patients with different settings of ventricular electrical storm. However, the effect of RSD on ventricular electrophysiology remains unclear. Methods: Twenty-eight adult mongrel dogs were included in the present study. Eighteen dogs were subjected to RSD which was performed by ablating the adventitial surface of the renal artery. In Group 1 (n=8), programmed stimulation was performed before and after RSD to determinate ventricular effective refractory period (ERP) and action potential duration (APD) restitution properties. In Group 2 (n=10), acute myocardial ischemia (AMI) was induced by ligating the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery after the performance of RSD and the incidence of ventricular arrhythmia (VA) was calculated during 1-hour recording. In another 10 dogs (Group 3), AMI was induced and VA was measured with sham RSD. Results: In Group 1, RSD significantly prolonged ventricular ERP and APD, reduced the maximum slope (Smax) of the restitution curve and suppressed APD alternans at each site (Fig. 1A, C, E). RSD also significantly decreased the spatial dispersions of ERP, APD and Smax (Fig. 1B, D, F). The occurrence of spontaneous VA during 1-h AMI in Group 2 was significantly lower than that in Group 3 (Tab. 1). Conclusions: RSD significantly prolongs ventricular ERP and APD, attenuates APD restitution properties and reduces the incidence of ischemia-induced VA, suggesting that RSD may exert an anti-arrhythmic role for VA.