Recording of low-amplitude diastolic electrograms through the coronary veins: a guide for epicardial ventricular tachycardia ablation

AIMS: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the role of coronary venous mapping to identify epicardial ventricular tachycardia (VT) in patients with structural heart disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: Epicardial mapping of the electrophysiological substrate through the coronary vein branches using a 2.2F, 16-pole microelectrode catheter was performed in 33 consecutive patients undergoing VT ablation. Twenty-six patients had a history of myocardial infarction and seven had a non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy. Endocardial ablation was successful in 19 of the 33 patients (58%). Low-amplitude fractionated diastolic electrograms with an electrogram-QRS interval amounting to 30-70% of the VT cycle length were recorded during the VT in the coronary vein branches in eight patients (24%). Endocardial ablation failed in seven of the eight patients with diastolic electrograms in the coronary veins, suggesting an epicardial involvement of the VT re-entry circuit. Among the patients with a suspected epicardial VT origin, four patients underwent epicardial ablation using a pericardial access after unsuccessful endocardial ablation which eliminated mappable VTs in all. CONCLUSION: Recording of low-amplitude fractionated diastolic electrograms through the coronary veins facilitates the identification of VTs with an epicardial origin requiring mapping and ablation through a pericardial access.