Heterogeneous Tissue Injury After AF Ablation Defined by LGE MRI

Christopher John McGann¹, Eugene Kholmovski, Joshua Blauer, Akram Shaaban, Brent Wilson, Josh Bertola, Carl Bohman, Edward DiBella, Rob MacLeod, Dennis Parker, Nassir Marrouche

Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) weeks to months post atrial fibrillation ablation injury shows left atrial (LA) wall enhancement due to scarring. LGE imaging has proven useful in guiding repeat procedures by identifying regions of viable tissue and incomplete pulmonary vein isolation. Here we show heterogeneous LA tissue injury immediately post ablation with non-enhancing regions on LGE imaging. These imaging findings have not previously been described and may be useful to further define tissue injury caused by RF energy delivery and help predict late scarring.