Catheter cryoablation of atrio-ventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia. A clinical review

cryoablation is a new method in interventional cardiac electrophysiology for percutaneous catheter ablation of cardiac arrhythmias. cryothermal mapping enables the functional assessment of a particular site before permanent ablation. in this way, the targeted tissue may be confirmed as safe for ablation. this is useful in high-risk ablation, for example, next to the his bundle or the compact av node. in the last decade, several studies have been addressed to av-nodal reentry tachycardia (avnrt) cryoablation. current experiences indicate that cryoablation for av-nodal reentry tachycardia is effective and safe. however, its wide use seems to be somewhat limited by a slightly lower efficacy when compared to radiofrequency. further studies evaluating long-term success of cryothermal ablation versus radiofrequency are warranted. however, for high-risk ablations, cryoenergy is very helpful and should be systematically used. this article is a review of acute and long-term effects of cryoablation in patients suffering of av-nodal reentry tachycardia episodes.