DISCOntinuation VERsus continuation of antiarrhythmic drugs prior to Pulmonary Vein Isolation for atrial fibrillation and influence on dormant conduction with adenosine; a randomised controlled trial.

Antiarrhythmic medications are frequently stopped more than five half-lives before pulmonary vein isolation(PVI) with the idea that they can supress spontaneous firing and fractionation of the electrocardiograms that can be used to guide ablation. Therefore they might mask dormant conduction in pulmonary veins. However many institutions choose to continue antiarrhythmic drugs(AAD) periprocedural. As current guidelines don’t recommend continuation or cessation of AAD prior to pulmonary vein isolation we compare continuing antiarrythmic drugs prior to PVI to cessation of AAD’s in relation to the occurence of dormant conduction.

As current guidelines don’t recommend continuation or cessation of AAD prior to pulmonary vein isolation we compare continuing antiarrythmic drugs prior to PVI to cessation of AAD’s in relation to the occurence of dormant conduction with adenosine after succesful PVI.

Acute and 12 months

Continuation or discontinuation of antiarrhythmic drugs 5 half lives prior to PVI