Cardiac surgery

BACKGROUND: Prior investigators note successful ablation of both typical cavotricuspid isthmus-dependent and scar-related macroreentrant right atrial flutters (AFL) in adult patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). However, an analysis of the mechanisms (including a description of a uniform approach to diagnose such mechanisms), and clinical outcomes of catheter ablation in a consecutive series of adult patients with AFL late after surgical TOF repair has not been previously reported.

 BACKGROUND: Atrial and ventriclar tachyarrhythmias, as well as bradyarrhythmias, in the elderly with heart failure (HF) and/or hypertension (HTN) have been well documented. However, the frequency of these arrhythmias, whether silent or symptomatic, and their association with subsequent cardiac events has not been well defined in patients 65 years or older with HF and other cardiovascular risk factors.