Complex Atrial Reentrant Circuits Evaluated by Entrainment Mapping Using a Multielectrode Basket Catheter

Atrial tachycardias after open heart surgery sometimes have complex reentrant circuits. A patient with a dual-loop atrial reentrant circuit occurring after mitral valve replacement was evaluated by entrainment mapping with a basket catheter. The position of the catheter was adjusted to obtain atrial electrograms of the anterior and posterior septal areas, the crista terminalis, the free wall, and the tricuspid annular region. Entrainment mapping identified a dual-loop reentry consisting of one circuit around the tricuspid annulus and another around the septal atriotomy scar. The reentrant circuit around the septal incision was eliminated by ablating the area between the septal incision and the inferior vena cava, and the circuit around the tricuspid annulus was terminated with an additional linear ablation between the tricuspid annulus and the inferior vena cava. Entrainment mapping using a multielectrode basket catheter is very useful for identifying complex atrial reentrant circuits.