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Abstract #1126

: Characterization of Pulmonary Vein Stenosis by Serial MRI After Atrial Fibrillation Ablation.

Lowell Chang1, Divya Verma1, Eugene Kholmovski2, Sathya Vijayakumar2, Nathan Burgon2, Nassir Marrouche1, Christopher McGann1

1Cardiology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, United States; 2Utah Center for Advanced Imaging Research, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, United States


Serial cardiac MRI is a useful tool in the characterization of injury of pulmonary veins leading to pulmonary vein stenosis after radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation. Acute edema/inflammation immediate post-ablation can be seen by T2-weighted imaging, while late gadolinium-enhanced imaging show remodeling leading to scar. Pulmonary vein stenosis is best predicted by MRA measurements of baseline pulmonary vein caliber and immediate post-ablation pulmonary vein narrowing.