Posttransplant atrial fibrillation: Evidence of early posttransplant recipient-to-donor atrioatrial connections.

Background: Atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter originating from the donor s heart is a commonly reported complication post heart transplant. Atrial tachyarrhythmia originating from the recipient s heart, propagated through recipient-to-donor connections, is rare with only few cases reported in the literature; most reported cases from our review occur years post-transplant.

Methods: A 47-year-old male presented with atrial tachycardia 6 months post heart transplant. Electrophysiologic study demonstrated atrial fibrillation originating from native heart and propagated through atrio-atrial connections to the donor heart. This arrhythmia was successfully terminated with radiofrequency ablation.

Conclusions: Atrio-atrial connection between recipient and donor can form as early as a few months post heart transplant. Radiofrequency ablation appears to be an effective treatment for atrial fibrillation propagated through donor-to-recipient connections.