Introduction
Catheter ablation (CA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) is a well-established
procedure for the treatment of drug refractory AF. Single-procedure AF
ablation is successful in 60-80% of optimal candidates, but many
patients require repeat ablation(1). Atypical atrial flutter (AFL) has
been reported in approximately 8% of patients following AF ablation
using RF energy(2). Patients with AFL can be very symptomatic and
refractory to medical therapy, often requiring repeat ablation
procedures. While it is a common belief that the outcomes for repeat
ablation procedures in patients who present with atypical AFl are
superior to those observed in patients who present with recurrent AF,
there are limited data available to support this assumption. This study
aimed to describe the electrophysiological findings and the prognostic
utility of recurrent atypical AFL versus recurrent AF after index AF
ablation in a large contemporary cohort of patients at our center.