The predictive value of intra‐left atrial mechanical delay for 1‐year recurrence of atrial fibrillation after catheter ablation: A clinical follow‐up study using dual Doppler echocardiography

PURPOSE: The availability of dual Doppler echocardiography (DDE), which facilitates the simultaneous recording of Doppler waveforms at two different sites, has enhanced ability to assess single-beat atrial mechanical delay. We sought to investigate the predictive value of intra-left atrial mechanical delay for atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) with DDE. METHODS: Eighty-six patients with paroxysmal AF scheduled to undergo RFCA were prospectively enrolled. Intra-atrial and interatrial mechanical delays were evaluated by DDE and traditional tissue Doppler imaging (tTDI), respectively. The time of whole analysis process with each method was recorded. After RFCA, patients were followed for 1 year. RESULTS: Thirty (34.88%) patients had AF recurrence, and 56 (65.12%) patients maintained sinus rhythm. Cut-off values of 39.38 ms for intra-left atrial mechanical delay obtained by DDE and 32.70 ms by tTDI predicted AF recurrence. Areas under curves were comparable in receiver operator characteristic analysis (P > .05). The whole analysis time of DDE was less than tTDI. Parameters obtained by DDE had better reproducibility. CONCLUSION: Intra-left atrial mechanical delay best predicted 1-year AF recurrence after RFCA. Compared with tTDI, DDE can noninvasively assess single-beat atrial mechanical delay with high predictive power, less analysis time, and better reproducibility.