Hee-Nam Park

UNLABELLED: Stem Cell Induces Cardiac Nerve Sprouting. INTRODUCTION: Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation is a promising technique to improve cardiac function. Whether MSC can increase cardiac nerve density and contribute to the improved cardiac function is unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS: Anterior wall myocardial infarction was created in 16 swine. One month later, 6 swine were given MSC and fresh bone marrow (BM) into infarcted myocardium (MSC group). Four swine were given fresh BM only (B

INTRODUCTION: Action potential duration restitution (APDR) plays a role in initiation and maintenance of ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular fibrillation (VF). We hypothesized that the steeply sloped APDR and its spatial heterogeneity contribute to VT/VF inducibility in patients with ventricular arrhythmia. METHOD AND RESULTS: After programmed ventricular stimulation (PVS) for evaluation of clinically documented VT, patients (n = 20, 15 male, age 52.5 +/- 9.5 years) were divided into two gr

BACKGROUND: Although atrial fibrillation (AF) has a risk of cognitive dysfunction, it is not clear whether AF catheter ablation improves or worsens cognitive function. This prospective case-control study sought to assess the 1-year serial changes in the cognitive function with or without AF catheter ablation. METHODS: We evaluated the Montreal Cognitive Assessment score in 308 patients (71.4% male, 60.6±9.1 years of age, 34.1% persistent AF) who underwent AF ablation (ablation group) and 50 AF p

OBJECTIVE: Circumferential pulmonary vein isolation (CPVI) has been considered the cornerstone of radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) for atrial fibrillation (AF). However, it is unclear whether linear ablation in addition to CPVI improves clinical outcome. DESIGN: Prospective randomised study to compare the efficacy of CPVI and CPVI with additional linear ablation in patients with paroxysmal AF (PAF). SETTING: University hospital. PATIENTS: This study enrolled 156 patients (male 76.3%, 55.8

BACKGROUND: Although percutaneous epicardial catheter ablation (PECA) has been used for the management of epicardial ventricular tachycardia, the use of PECA for atrial fibrillation (AF) has not yet been reported. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of a hybrid PECA and endocardial ablation for AF. METHODS: We performed PECA for AF in five patients (48.6 +/- 8.1 years old, all male, four redo ablation procedures of persistent AF with a risk of pulmonary vein (PV) stenosis, one de

AIMS: We hypothesized that P-wave amplitude in lead I is related to left atrial (LA) remodelling and inter-atrial conduction pattern, and has a predictive value for recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) among patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 525 consecutive patients with PAF (76% male, 56 ± 12 years old) who underwent RFCA were included. We compared pre-procedural sinus rhythm electrocardiograms without antiarrhythmic drug eff

BACKGROUND: Papillary muscle (PM) ablation may terminate ventricular fibrillation (VF) in rabbit hearts. Whether or not PM ablation prevents ventricular fibrillation (VF) induction in large animals is unknown. METHODS: We performed noncontact endocardial mapping and/or high-density epicardial mapping during VF in 12 dogs and 16 swine and tested the effects of posterior PM (PPM) ablation on VF inducibility. RESULTS: During VF in progressive global ischemia (3 swine and 2 dogs), the highest domina

AIMS: Some genetic susceptibility loci for atrial fibrillation (AF) identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in a European database showed ethnic differences in the Asian population. We explored novel AF susceptibility variants for patients with early-onset AF (≤60 years old) among Korean patients who underwent AF catheter ablation. METHODS AND RESULTS: A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted with 672 cases (≤60 years old, Yonsei AF Ablation cohort) and 3700 controls (Ko

INTRODUCTION: The underlying mechanisms of complex fractionated atrial electrogram (CFAE) during radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) have not yet been clearly elucidated. We explored the relationships between CFAE and left atrial (LA) voltage, or conduction velocity (CV). METHODS AND RESULTS: In 50 patients with AF (23 paroxysmal AF [PAF], 41 males, mean age 55.76 +/- 10.16 years), the CFAE (average index of fractionation of electrograms during AF by interval-anal

AIMS: Although electrically reconnected pulmonary veins (PV) are the main mechanism of atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence, PV isolation (PVI) is well-preserved in certain patients who undergo a repeat procedure. We explored the association between PV reconnection and clinical outcomes after a second ablation. METHODS AND RESULTS: This observational cohort study included 143 patients (79.0% male, 56.1 ± 10.0 years old, 65.0% paroxysmal AF) who underwent a second procedure. Pulmonary vein isolati

BACKGROUND: We investigated the efficiency and convenience of a continuous warfarinization (CW) strategy during the periprocedural period of radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) in comparison with the classic strategy of switching to heparin (SH). METHODS AND RESULTS: We compared CW (n = 49) and SH (n = 55, 3 days before RFCA) in 104 patients who underwent RFCA of AF (77 males, 55 +/- 12 years old, paroxysmal AF: persistent AF = 63:41). During the procedure, the ac

AIMS: Although the concept of radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) for atrial fibrillation (AF) was derived from maze surgery, it is unclear if linear ablation in addition to circumferential pulmonary vein isolation (CPVI) reduces the recurrence rate in patients with paroxysmal AF. Therefore, we compared clinical outcomes of CPVI with additional linear ablations (Dallas lesion set) and CPVI in a prospective randomized controlled study among patients with paroxysmal AF. METHODS AND RESULTS: Th