Intracardiac Mapping in the Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratory

Abstract

Intracardiac mapping constitutes the foundation of ablation therapies performed for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. The overall goal of electroanatomic mapping is to differentiate normal myocardium from scarred regions of the same and facili- tate the successful ablation of cardiac arrhythmias. In general, the electroanatomic mapping setup involves three key components: (1) mapping catheters that gather information from the tip of the catheter regarding a fiduciary timing reference as well as local voltage, (2) the creation of a spatial/topographic map of cardiac cham- bers, and (3) further analysis of the compiled electrophysiological data. In modern- day practice, an electroanatomic map is created either using a “point-by-point” approach or by moving the catheter and not collecting individual points. At