Since its introduction, percutaneous epicardial access is increasingly being performed
to facilitate catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardias (VTs) with epicardial
circuits, difficult cases of idiopathic VTs, focal atrial tachycardia, and accessory
pathways that cannot be successfully targeted endocardially.
1
A thorough understanding of the clinical anatomy and potential complications is vital
in order to perform a safe procedure.
2
In this article, we present the clinical anatomy related to epicardial access, the
technique of performing a subxiphoid epicardial puncture, and various measures to
prevent complications.Abbreviations:
LA (left atrium/atrial), LAO (left anterior oblique), LV (left ventricle/ventricular), RV (right ventricle/ventricular), VT (ventricular tachycardia)Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: June 05, 2014
Footnotes
Dr Lim was supported by the Neil Hamilton Fairley Early Career Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
