Atrial tachycardia, atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation: curative therapy by means of focal ablation in a pulmonary vein

We describe the case of a 50-year-old woman with the clinical diagnosis of cardiomyopathy associated with supraventricular tachycardia refractory to p harmacological treatment. The totally irregular tachyarrhythmia was the res ult of different episodes of atrial tachycardia, atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation that could be identified in the surface ECG. These findings an d the patient's symptoms were all caused by a single focal tachycardia orig inating from the left upper pulmonary vein. Ablation of this focus represen ted a curative antiarrhythmic therapy also restoring a normalized ventricul ar function. Thus, an ablation of the AV node with consecutive pacemaker im plantation could be prevented.