{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,10]],"date-time":"2026-06-10T05:02:38Z","timestamp":1781067758380,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,18]],"date-time":"2026-02-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771372800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,18]],"date-time":"2026-02-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771372800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Int J Cardiovasc Imaging"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence after catheter ablation (CA), often due to incomplete lesions, remains a challenge. In this study, we evaluate the role of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in characterizing lesion formation and guiding re-ablation strategies in patients with paroxysmal AF undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA). This prospective, single-center study enrolled patients undergoing first-time RFCA for paroxysmal AF. Pre-ablation CMR was performed for functional, anatomical, and fibrosis assessment. Repeat CMR 3 months post-ablation was performed to quantify fibrosis using Image Intensity Ratio (IIR) and detect lesion gaps, defined as \u2265\u20093\u00a0mm discontinuities in late gadolinium enhancement (LGE). AF recurrence was monitored for 18 months. 25 patients (20% female) were enrolled. 8\/25 patients (32%) experienced AF recurrence. Post-ablation CMR showed significantly increased atrial fibrosis, though only in 2\/25 patients (8%) complete circumferential pulmonary vein (PV) lesions were observed. Fibrosis burden did not differ significantly between patients with and without recurrence. Among 6 patients undergoing repeat ablation, 3 with LGE-defined gaps in circumferential lesions were successfully treated with a single re-isolation procedure. In contrast, 3 patients with extensive lesions and minimal or no gaps required multiple repeat procedures and additional ablation at extra-pulmonary vein sites. CMR can be a useful tool to assess post-ablation lesions and detect gaps after RFCA for paroxysmal AF. This may help distinguish recurrence due to insufficient initial ablation from other arrhythmogenic triggers, thereby guiding tailored and effective re-ablation strategies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s10554-026-03655-3","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,18]],"date-time":"2026-02-18T09:33:52Z","timestamp":1771407232000},"page":"1071-1079","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging for post-ablation lesion assessment and guiding re-ablation strategies in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"42","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5881-4937","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sophie C.","family":"Rier","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tommaso","family":"Semino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giulia","family":"De Zan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marco","family":"Guglielmo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hemanth","family":"Ramanna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jeroen F.","family":"van der Heijden","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Astrid A.","family":"Hendriks","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maarten J.","family":"Cramer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pim","family":"van der Harst","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vincent J.H.M.","family":"van Driel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ivo A.C.","family":"van der Bilt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,18]]},"reference":[{"issue":"6","key":"3655_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"775","DOI":"10.1007\/s00392-020-01751-5","volume":"110","author":"TJ Buist","year":"2021","unstructured":"Buist TJ, Zipes DP, Elvan A (2021) Atrial fibrillation ablation strategies and technologies: past, present, and future. 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