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Complications of Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation and Prevention Methods

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Cardiac Electrophysiology Without Fluoroscopy

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Abstract

Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of different arrhythmias carries inherent risks due to the nature of the tissue disruption obtained by heating the tip of the ablation catheter. Perforation of heart chambers and bleeding, thromboembolic complications, and complete AV block when ablating in the AV node-His area are the most feared. Most of these complications are related to the access, positioning of the catheters and radiofrequency itself and not to the imaging modality use to guide catheter navigation in the heart and the afferent or efferent vessels. We describe how to prevent and manage complications arising from the new paradigm of an EP lab working without fluoroscopy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cardiology (Arrhythmia Service), University of Ottawa Heart Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Andres C. Klein

  2. Canadian Working Group on Radiation Reduction in Arrhythmia Management, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Andres C. Klein & Félix Ayala-Paredes

  3. University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Riccardo Proietti

  4. Division of Cardiology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Félix Ayala-Paredes

Authors
  1. Andres C. Klein
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  2. Riccardo Proietti
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  3. Félix Ayala-Paredes
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Félix Ayala-Paredes .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiac, Thoracic Vascular Sciences and Public Health, The University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Riccardo Proietti

  2. Huazhong University of Science and Technology Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Wuhan, China

    Yan Wang

  3. Peking Union Medical College Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Disease, Beijing, China

    Yan Yao

  4. The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University , Nanning, China

    Guo Qiang Zhong

  5. Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    Shu Lin Wu

  6. Université de Sherbrooke , Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Félix Ayala-Paredes

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Klein, A.C., Proietti, R., Ayala-Paredes, F. (2019). Complications of Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation and Prevention Methods. In: Proietti, R., Wang, Y., Yao, Y., Zhong, G., Lin Wu, S., Ayala-Paredes, F. (eds) Cardiac Electrophysiology Without Fluoroscopy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16992-3_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16992-3_15

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-16991-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-16992-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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