Experimental comparison of electrodes for intracavitary cardioversion of atrial fibrillation: effectiveness and safety of a new electrode.
The right atrium (RA)-external thorax (ET) arrangement has several advantages when used for intracavitary cardioversion of atrial fibrillation (AF): it utilizes a single catheter, the procedure does not need radioscopic follow-up, little endovascular contact results, and there is flexibility in the positioning of the ET electrode. However it is not commonly used and only scantly studied. To evaluate experimentally in animals the efficacy and safety of a new loop electrode placed in the RA in the RA-ET arrangement and to compare it with the RA-pulmonary artery (PA) configuration. Ten mongrel dogs with acute induced AF are to be cardioverted with the two arrangements, using increasing levels of energy and its efficacy compared. If lesions show up in the anatomic pathology, a complementary study with three animals will be carried out to assess its origin. The average energy needed for cardioversion was similar in the two arrangements (P = 0.86). Myocardial lesions found were not attributable to the new electrode but supposedly to the AF induction catheter. The new electrode model is effective and safe, besides being easy to use and of low cost.