OBJECTIVE: To assess whether atrial stimulation with pulsatile continuous electrical current induces atrial fibrillation and to evaluate its effects on atrial electrophysiological properties as well as the atrial histological alterations. METHODS: Twenty-two dogs underwent right lateral thoracotomy and implantation of pacemaker electrodes in the sulcus terminalis (ST), in the right atrial appendix (RAb), and in the posteroinferior region of the left atrium (LA). A pair of electrodes was sutured to the right atrial appendix for stimulation with a 9-volt alkaline battery connected to a system (LM 555) that transforms the linear continuous energy of the battery into a pulsatile continuous current for 60 minutes. Atrial epicardial biopsy was performed before and after atrial stimulation. RESULTS: No differences were observed in the durations of the effective atrial refractory periods. The times of intra-atrial and interatrial conduction, as well as that of atrial extrastimuli, were prolonged. The duration of atrial electrograms was prolonged during sinus rhythm and programmed atrial stimulation; in 68% of the dogs, atrial fibrillation was induced and was sustained. Interstitial edema and bands of cellular contraction were observed in the subepicardium on optical microscopy, as were intense myofibrillar disorganization and an increase in the size of the mitochondria on electron microscopy. CONCLUSION: That technique of atrial stimulation induces atrial fibrillation and causes atrial changes that increase atrial vulnerability to the appearance of atrial fibrillation.
cardiac arrhythmia; atrial fibrillation; electrophysiology
