DOPPLER DETECTION OF VALVULAR REGURGITATION AFTER RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION OF ACCESSORY CONNECTIONS

Radiofrequency current was used recently to ablate accessory connections in patients with supraventricular tachycardia.1-5 After locating the accessory connection by electrophysiologic mapping, ablation is achieved by positioning a 7Fr catheter (with 4 mm electrode at distal tip) within the ipsilateral cardiac chamber and adjacent to the accessory connection. Radiofrequency current is then delivered at the point of earliest electrical activation along the atrioventricular valve annulus. For a left-sided accessory connection, the catheter is usually passed retrograde across the aortic valve into the left ventricle and under the posterior mitral valve leaflet. For a right-sided accessory connection, the catheter is passed anterograde into the right atrium or ventricle.1-5 Systematic evaluation of the effects of this technique on the function of all cardiac valves has not been reported. This study evaluates the effects of catheter manipulation and radiofrequency current delivery on valve competence. © 1992.