Left atrial fibrosis as an electroanatomic substrate of atrial fibrillation: possibilities for quantitative assessment

The article focuses on the role of left atrial (LA) fibrosis as the basis of the electroanatomic substrate in atrial fibrillation (AF), which determines not only the stability of AF but also the success of catheter ablation (CA). In the article the molecular and cellular aspects of LA fibrosis formation and possible mechanisms of arrhythmogenic effects of fibrotic tissue are considered in details, the methods of estimation of LA fibrosis size determining the effectiveness of CA in patients with AF are demonstrated. Current data on the possibilities of using circulating fibrosis biomarkers as predictors of fibrosis severity and recurrence of AF after CA are presented.