[Clinical use and late results of transvenous endocardial destruction of the atrioventricular junction by the bipolar method].

Transvenous endocardial destruction of the AV junction, using an original bipolar technique, was carried out in 32 patients with supraventricular tachyarrhythmias, resistant to medication. The procedure was effective in 29 (91%) of 32 patients. Stable and complete AV block was achieved in 23 of 30 patients, with subsequent implantation of a pacemaker, while in 4 patients, clinical improvement was achieved with intact AV conductivity. Two patients with re-entry tachycardia of the AV junction were subjected to low-energy contusion of the AV junction, and the results were good. Major hemodynamic and myocardial contractility parameters were basically unchanged at long-term follow-up; spontaneous heart rate was significantly decreased in patients with implanted pacemakers, and some of those developed pacemaker dependence.