S-R difference in V1-V2 is a novel criterion for differentiating the left from right ventricular outflow tract arrhythmias.

AIM

The correct estimation of the VA origin as RVOT or LVOT results in reduced ablation duration reduced radiation exposure and decreased number of vascular access. In our study, we aimed to detect the predictive value of S-R difference in V1-V2 for differentiating the left from right ventricular outflow tract arrhythmias.

METHODS

We included 123 patients with symptomatic frequent premature ventricular outflow tract contractions who underwent successful catheter ablation (70 male, 53 female; mean age 46.2 ± 13.9 years, 61 RVOT, 62 LVOT origins). S-R difference in V1-V2 was calculated with this formula on the 12-lead surface ECG: (V1S + V2S) - (V1R + V2R). Conventional ablation was performed in 101 (82.1%) patients, CARTO electroanatomic mapping system was used in 22 (17.9%) patients.

RESULTS

V1-2 SRd was found to be significantly lower for LVOT origins than RVOT origins (p < .001). The cutoff value of V1-2 SRd obtained by ROC curve analysis was 1.625 mV for prediction of RVOT origin (sensitivity: 95.1%, specificity: 85.5%, positive predictive value: 86.5%, negative predictive value: 94.5%). The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.929 (p < .001).

CONCLUSION

S-R difference in V1-V2 is a novel and simple electrocardiographic criterion for accurately differentiating RVOT from LVOT sites of ventricular arrhythmia origins. The use of this simple ECG measurement could improve the accuracy of OTVA localization, could be beneficial for decreasing ablation duration and radiation exposure. Further studies with larger patient population are needed to verify the results of this study.