Catheter ablation of tachycardia arising from the pulmonary venous atrium after surgical repair of congenital heart disease

Background Tachycardia arising from the pulmonary venous atrium (PVA) has not been adequately characterized in the setting of surgically repaired congenital heart disease (CHD). Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanisms, approach, and outcomes of catheter ablation of PVA tachycardia after CHD repair. Methods The adult CHD procedural database was searched for consecutive ablation procedures over a 4-year period. Procedural characteristics of the population with tachycardia arising from the PVA were compared to those without PVA tachycardia. Groups were classified as (1) biventricular CHD, (2) single ventricle, or (3) d-transposition of the great arteries (DTGA)-baffle. Results Complete 3-dimensional mapping was possible for 113 of 124 sustained tachycardias during 81 procedures. Of these, 31 (19%) arose from the PVA, including 11 (15%) tachycardias in biventricular CHD, 8 (31%) in single ventricle, and 12 (80%) in DTGA-baffle procedures. Intra-atrial reentrant tachycardia was less frequently observed in the PVA vs the systemic venous atrium (SVA) (P =.012). Independent predictors of PVA tachycardia were absence of biventricular CHD (odds ratio 0.19, confidence interval 0.05-0.64, P =.010) and ipsilateral atrial surgery (odds ratio 15.7, confidence interval 4.8-59.9, P <.001). PVA procedure duration was greater than SVA-only procedures (median 5.3 hours vs 4.0 hours, P =.012), but acute success was similar (87% vs 82%, respectively, P = NS). Conclusion PVA tachycardia is not unusual after surgical repair of CHD. Predictors include ipsilateral atrial surgery and absence of biventricular CHD. Such procedures involve increased complexity and unique tachycardia substrates but appear equally amenable to catheter ablation.