Background The influence of risk factors on atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation recurrence is increasingly recognized. We present a sub-analysis of the European Society of Cardiology-European Heart... Show moreBackground The influence of risk factors on atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation recurrence is increasingly recognized. We present a sub-analysis of the European Society of Cardiology-European Heart Rhythm Association-European Society of Cardiology AF ablation long-term registry on the effect of traditional risk factors for AF on postablation recurrence, reablation, and complications using real-world data. Methods Risk factors for AF were defined as body mass index >= 27 kg/m(2), hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, alcohol >= 2 units/day, sleep apnea, smoking, no/occasional sports activity, moderate/severe mitral or aortic valve disease, any cardiomyopathy, peripheral vascular disease, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, coronary artery disease/infarction, and previous pacemaker/defibrillator implant. Patients were divided in two groups with >= 1 or without risk factors. Primary outcomes were arrhythmia recurrence after blanking period, reablation, and adverse events or death. Differences between the groups and the influence of individual risk factors were analyzed using multivariate Cox regression. Results Three thousand sixty nine patients were included; 217 patients were without risk factors. Risk factor patients were older (58.4 vs 54.1 years), more often female (32% vs 19.8%) and had more often persistent AF (27.2% vs 23.5%). In a multivariate analysis, patients without risk factors had a hazard ratio of 0.70 (95% CI 0.49-0.99) for recurrence compared to risk factor patients. The multivariate hazard ratios for reablation or adverse events/death were not different between the two groups. Hypertension and body mass index were univariate predictors of recurrence. Conclusions Patients with >= 1 risk factor had a 30% higher risk for arrhythmia recurrence after ablation, but no differences in risk for repeat ablations and adverse events or death. Show less
Aims Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI), the standard for atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation, is most commonly applied with radiofrequency (RF) energy, although cryoballoon technology (CRYO) has gained... Show moreAims Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI), the standard for atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation, is most commonly applied with radiofrequency (RF) energy, although cryoballoon technology (CRYO) has gained widespread use. The aim was to compare the second-generation cryoballoon and the irrigated RF energy regarding outcomes and safety.Methods and results Of 4657 patients undergoing their first AF ablation, 982 with CRYO and 3675 with RF energy were included from the Swedish catheter ablation registry and the Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Long-Term registry of the European Heart Rhythm Association of the European Society of Cardiology. The primary endpoint was repeat AF ablation. The major secondary endpoints included procedural duration, tachyarrhythmia recurrence, and complication rate. The re-ablation rate after 12 months was significantly lower in the CRYO vs. the RF group, 7.8% vs. 11%, P=0.005, while freedom from arrhythmia recurrence (30 s duration) did not differ between the groups, 70.2 % vs. 68.2%, P=0.44. The result was not influenced by AF type and lesion sets applied. In the Cox regression analysis, paroxysmal AF had significantly lower risk for re-ablation with CRYO, hazard ratio 0.56 (P=0.041). Procedural duration was significantly shorter with CRYO than RF, (meanSD) 133.6 +/- 45.2 min vs. 174.6 +/- 58.2 min, P<0.001. Complication rates were similar; 53/982 (5.4%) vs. 191/3675 (5.2%), CRYO vs. RF, P=0.806.Conclusion The lower re-ablation rates and shorter procedure times observed with the cryoballoon as compared to RF ablation may have important clinical implications when choosing AF ablation technique despite recognized limitations with registries. Show less
Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) promotes atrial remodeling that in turn promotes AF perpetuation. The aim of our study is to investigate the impact of AF history length on 1-year outcome of AF... Show moreBackground Atrial fibrillation (AF) promotes atrial remodeling that in turn promotes AF perpetuation. The aim of our study is to investigate the impact of AF history length on 1-year outcome of AF catheter ablation in a cohort of patients enrolled in the Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Registry. Methods We described the real-life clinical epidemiology, therapeutic strategies, and the short- and mid-term outcomes of 1948 patients (71.9% with paroxysmal AF) undergoing AF ablation procedures, stratified according to AF history duration (<2 years or >= 2 years). Results The mean AF history duration was 46.2 +/- 57.4 months, 592 patients had an AF history duration <2 years (mean 10.2 +/- 5.9 months), and 1356 patients >= 2 years (mean 75.5 +/- 63.5 months) (P < 0.001). Patients with AF history duration <2 years were younger; had a lower incidence of hypertension, coronary artery disease, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; and had a lower CHA(2)DS(2)-VaSc Score. At 1 year, the logrank test showed a lower incidence of AF recurrence in patients with AF history duration <2 years (28.9%) than in patients with AF history duration >= 2 years (34.0%) (P = 0.037). AF history duration >= 2 years, overall ablation procedure duration, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease were all predictors of recurrences after the blanking period. Conclusions In this multicenter registry, performing catheter ablation in patients with an AF history >= 2 years was associated with higher rates of AF recurrences at 1 year. Since cumulative time in AF in not necessarily equivalent to AF history, its role remains to be clarified. Show less
