Abstract #0087

Evidence for Improved Left Atrial Blood Flow Dynamics after Pulmonary Vein Isolation in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

Maurice Pradella^1,2, Justin J Baraboo¹, Suvai Gunasekaran¹, Mitchell A Collins¹, Anthony Maroun¹, Amanda L DiCarlo¹, Rishi Arora³, Phil Greenland⁴, Rod Passman³, and Michael Markl¹

¹Department of Radiology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States, ²Department of Radiology, University Hospital Basel, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland, ³Department of Cardiology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States, ⁴Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States

Synopsis

Atrial fibrillation (AF) significantly increases stroke risk which is attributed to thrombus formation in the left atrium (LA) and to a greater extent the LA appendage (LAA). In this study, we investigated 4D-flow MRI-derived blood flow metrics from pre- and post-ablation exams in 26 AF patients undergoing pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). Blood stasis in both the LA and LAA significantly decreased in the post-PVI 4D-flow MRI. Furthermore, LA and LAA volumes also significantly decreased. Our results suggest that 4D-flow MRI was sensitive to detect treatment-related changes of LA and LAA flow metrics implicated on thromboembolic risk in AF patients.

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