A new method for successfully curing pediatric atrial tachycardia

  The First Affiliated Hospital of Tsinghua University, Department of Cardiology and Pediatrics Shi Shi is a cheerful and pretty girl who loves to play basketball, but this small wish could not be fulfilled because of her fast heart rate and poor heart function. She was diagnosed with atrial tachycardia and took a lot of anti-arrhythmic drugs, but her heart did not change to normal sinus rhythm. She couldn’t control her love for basketball and came all the way to the First Affiliated Hospital of Tsinghua University (Huaxin Hospital) to seek treatment for atrial tachycardia from Professor Li Xiaomei to achieve what she wanted. On admission, the resting ECG showed a heart rate of 166 beats per minute, and the left ventricular ejection fraction on cardiac ultrasound was only 25%, suggesting that cardiac function was severely impaired due to sustained tachycardia. To ensure the safety of the operation, under the guidance of Prof. Li Xiaomei, the ventricular rate of Silk was controlled at 80-100 beats/min with medication and assisted with cardiac stimulation, and Silk’s left ventricular function improved slightly. Under the earnest hope of Si Si and the eager request of her parents, Prof. Li Xiaomei finally decided to take the risk of carefully performing ablation treatment for her.  On July 21, 2010, with the collaboration of the Department of Anesthesiology, Prof. Li Xiaomei led the entire pediatric electrophysiology team to ablate her atrial ectopic point of origin for the first time in the heart using the advanced Carto 3D scaler system. The earliest point of excitation was located in the posterior septum of the right atrium, and the trial discharge was unsuccessful. The earliest point of origin was measured at the lower end of the right superior pulmonary vein entrance, and the discharge was ablated there.  After the surgery, Prof. Li Xiaomei came out of the catheter and explained to her mother that the surgery was a success, and her mother immediately fell to her knees with tears in her eyes and choked up, “Thank you, Director Li, thank you, Director Li.  With the success of the first operation, in the past month, Prof. Li Xiaomei led us to successfully ablate three other children with persistent atrial tachycardia by using the Carto 3D scaler system again.  The treatment of atrial tachycardia in children is difficult, because persistent tachycardia can lead to heart enlargement and decreased cardiac function (i.e. tachycardic cardiomyopathy), and radiofrequency ablation is not the first choice because of its low success rate, but drug therapy is usually preferred, but it is inefficient and toxic, and even if it is effective, it requires a long period of time to take medication. The advanced Carto 3-D system allows for easier and more accurate location of the atrial ectopic point of origin, shortening the procedure time and greatly improving the success rate of RF ablation. This is a boon for these children.