TREATMENT OF SUPRAVENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIAS WITH TRANSCATHETER DELIVERY OF RADIOFREQUENCY CURRENT

Medical therapy for the treatment of supraventricular tachycardias is frequently ineffective and associated with significant side effects, whereas curative surgical approaches have generally been limited by their considerable morbidity and cost. Greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying supraventricular tachycardias has improved our ability to precisely map endocardial areas critical to arrhythmogenesis. Advances in catheter ablation techniques and particularly the use of radiofrequency current to generate thermal energy for ablation have resulted in dramatic success rates for curative catheter ablation. This review examines the physics of radiofrequency current ablation and its application to the treatment of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, AV nodal reentrant tachycardia, and arrhythmias associated with the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. The limitations, risks, and cost-effectiveness of this technique relative to medical and surgical approaches are also evaluated.