Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD), which lowers the quality of life (QoL) and increases the risk of dialysis related complications. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of AF ablation on the QoL in patients undergoing HD. Methods and Results: Nineteen patients undergoing HD (14 men, age 68±8years, 15 paroxysmal AF) who underwent catheter ablation (CA) of drug-refractory AF were enrolled in the study. The ablation outcomes and procedural complications were evaluated and compared to 1053 consecutive patients without HD who underwent AF ablation. The Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form (KDQOL-SF) was assessed to evaluate the QoL of the HD patients at baseline and six months after the ablation. During the follow-up period of 17±13 months after the last procedure, the arrhythmia free rate was similar (HD patients 79% vs. non-HD patients 86%, log-rank p=0.82). There were no life-threatening complications in any patients. The KDQOL-SF of the HD patients six months after the ablation showed an improvement in the physical functioning (54±23 to 68±28, p<0.01), general health perceptions (38±17 to 48±15, p<0.01) and symptoms/problems (75±21 to 84±13, p=0.02) as compared to the baseline. Regarding the intradialytic symptoms, the dyspnea during HD significantly improved after the CA in the HD patients without AF recurrence (35% to 6%, p=0.04), while the atrial tachyarrhythmias and hypotension during HD remained unchanged. Conclusions: CA of AF improves the QoL in patients with chronic hemodialysis.

Introduction: There is increasing evidence of the epicardial connection between the right-sided pulmonary vein (PV) carina and right atrium interrupts right-sided PV isolation after circumferential PV ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation. In such cases, carina ablation is often required. This study aimed to assess the utility of the right atrial posterior wall (RAPW) pacing in the detection of the right-sided epicardial connection (EC), evaluate the requirement for additional carina ablation after circumferential pulmonary vein (PV) ablation depending on the presence of EC, and investigate the clinical characteristics including the amount of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) in patients with ECs. Methods and Results: Forty-one patients scheduled for PV isolation were enrolled. Before ablation, activation mapping of the LA was prospectively performed during pacing from the RAPW. EC was observed in 12 patients (EC group, 29%), whereas no EC was observed in the remaining 29 patients (non-EC group, 71%). For PV isolation, carina ablation was required in addition to circumferential ablation in 7 patients (58%) in the EC group, compared to 2 patients (7%) in the non-EC group (p < 0.003). Periatrial and intercaval EAT volumes were significantly lower (12.8 ± 6.2 vs. 23.1 ± 13.9 ml/m 2, p < 0.02, and 1.1 ± 0.8 vs. 2.2 ± 1.6 ml/m 2, p< 0.02, respectively) and the patients were younger (66.5 ± 6.6 vs. 72.4 ± 8.3 years, p < 0.03) in the EC group than in the non-EC group. Conclusions: RAPW pacing revealed EC between the RA and right PV carina in nearly a quarter of the patients.

Introduction: Right ventricular (RV) pacing causes changes in the heart’s electrical and mechanical activation patterns. QRS duration is a useful surrogate marker of electrical dyssynchrony; longer QRS duration during RV pacing indicates poor prognosis. However, the mechanisms underlying longer QRS duration during RV pacing remain unclear; hence, we investigated factors predicting QRS prolongation during RV pacing. Methods and Results: We enrolled 211 patients who underwent catheter ablation for supraventricular tachyarrhythmia and showed no bundle-branch-block. Three-dimensional mapping for QRS duration during RV pacing from the RV outflow to RV apex was performed, and the difference in QRS duration was analyzed. The predisposing factors causing QRS >160 ms during RV apical pacing were also analyzed. QRS durations at baseline and during RV pacing from the RV outflow and at RV apex were 85.0±7.5 ms, 163.7±17.1 ms, and 156.2±16.1 ms, respectively. With respect to QRS duration, there was a significant correlation between RV outflow and RV apical pacing (r=0.658, p<0.001). The difference in QRS duration between RV outflow and apex in each patient was only 12.5±10.4 ms. Logistic multivariable regression analysis identified baseline QRS duration [odds ratio (OR) 1.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15 to 1.33, p<0.01], interventricular septum thickness (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.02-1.40, p=0.025), left atrial diameter (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.01-1.16, p=0.024), and E/e’ (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.12-1.35, p<0.01) as significant predictors of prolonged QRS duration during RV apical pacing. Conclusion: QRS duration during RV pacing largely depends not on the pacing site, but on underlying structural heart diseases.