Long-term outcomes after ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation: an observational study over 6 years



Wynn, Gareth J, El-Kadri, Moutaz ORCID: 0000-0003-3761-5546, Haq, Iram, Das, Moloy, Modi, Simon, Snowdon, Richard, Hall, Mark, Waktare, Johan EP, Todd, Derick M and Gupta, Dhiraj
(2016) Long-term outcomes after ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation: an observational study over 6 years. OPEN HEART, 3 (2). e000394-.

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Abstract

<h4>Objectives</h4>To address the limited long-term outcome data for catheter ablation (CA) of persistent atrial fibrillation (PeAF), we analysed consecutive ablations performed at our centre from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2010 and followed patients prospectively until January 2014.<h4>Methods</h4>Both arrhythmia recurrence and symptom relief were assessed. Follow-up data were collected from hospital records, supplemented by data from general practitioners and referring hospitals. At the end of the follow-up period, all patients were contacted by phone to determine their up-to-date clinical condition.<h4>Results</h4>188 consecutive patients with PeAF (157 male, mean age 57.3±9.7 years, 20% with long-standing PeAF) underwent a mean of 1.75 procedures (range 1-4). Telephone follow-up was achieved for 77% of surviving patients. Over a mean follow-up of 46±16 months (range 4-72), 139 (75%) patients experienced arrhythmia recurrence after a single procedure and 90 (48%) after their final procedure. Median time to first recurrence was 210 days (range 91-1850). 71% of recurrences were within the first year following ablation and 91% within 2 years. At final follow-up, 82% of patients reported symptomatic improvement. 7 (2.3%) major complications occurred, and there was no procedure-related death or stroke.<h4>Conclusions</h4>CA for PeAF is safe with a low rate of complications. Over a follow-up period of up to 6 years, a large majority of patients experience significant symptomatic improvement but recurrence after the initial procedure is the norm rather than the exception. 2 years' follow-up is sufficient to observe 90% of AF recurrences, but recurrence can occur even after 5 years' remission.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Cardiac arrhythmias and resuscitation science, Electrophysiology
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 24 Mar 2020 11:51
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 23:57
DOI: 10.1136/openhrt-2015-000394
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3079971