Pulmonary Vein Stenosis Post Radiofrequency Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation, Rare Complication of a Common Disease: Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

Pulmonary vein stenosis is a potential complication of radiofrequency ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation. Symptoms of pulmonary vein stenosis include dyspnea and hemoptysis. Early attempts with cardiac angioplasty techniques should be tried first before embarking on surgical options in patients with pulmonary vein stenosis. Adequate surveillance utilizing computerized axial tomography angiogram, magnetic resonance imaging and ablation of the pulmonary veins is an important tool to decrease the incidence of this complication and prevent the progression of symptoms. This study reports a case of severe hemoptysis secondary to pulmonary vein stenosis as a complication of radiofrequency ablation treated with interventional cardiac angioplasty followed by surgery.