Ablation procedure
The ablation procedures were started in the morning. The details of the
double Lasso catheter-guided extensive encircling pulmonary vein antrum
isolation performed in this study have been described previously
[17]. In brief, 2 decapolar circular catheters were positioned
within the ipsilateral superior and inferior pulmonary veins.
Circumferential ablation lines were created around the left- and
right-sided ipsilateral pulmonary veins with the use of a 3.5 mm-tip
irrigated catheter (Thermocool SmartTouch®, Biosense
Webster, Diamond Bar, CA, USA). Radiofrequency energy was delivered with
a maximum power of 30 Watt. Real-time contact force data were used to
guide the ablation procedures, with a target force of 10-15 g. The goal
of the procedure was to achieve both pulmonary vein entrance and exit
block [1].