Shortening of the atrial-His bundle interval during atrial pacing as a predictor of successful ablation for typical atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia

Aims:Shortening of the atrial-His bundle (AH) interval during the sinus rhythm is occasionally observed after slow pathway ablation for atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia (AVNRT). In addition, high-rate atrial pacing is useful for avoiding atrioventricular block. We hypothesized that shortening of the AH interval during slow pathway ablation under high-rate atrial pacing would lead to successful ablation of typical AVNRT. Methods and results:This retrospective study included 37 patients in whom successful ablation of typical AVNRT was performed under atrial pacing. The AH interval was measured immediately before the first radiofrequency (RF) application and immediately after the last RF application, prior to the first induction. Twenty-five of 37 patients achieved procedural success at the first induction (i.e. successful group). No patients developed a prolonged AH interval or atrioventricular block. The AH interval was shortened by an average of 14.6 ± 7.7 and 1.8 ± 1.2 ms in the successful and other patient groups, respectively (P   10 ms was observed in 23 of 27 (85%) patients in the successful group, whereas all other patients had an AH interval decrease of < 5 ms. Conclusion:Shortening of the AH interval during high-rate atrial pacing is a predictor of the successful ablation for typical AVNRT.