0000000000448169
AUTHOR
Benjamin Schäffer
Five-year follow-up after catheter ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation using the stepwise approach and prognostic factors for success.
Background— In the meantime, catheter ablation is widely used for the treatment of persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). There is a paucity of data about long-term outcomes. This study evaluates (1) 5-year single and multiple procedure success and (2) prognostic factors for arrhythmia recurrences after catheter ablation of persistent AF using the stepwise approach aiming at AF termination. Methods and Results— A total of 549 patients with persistent AF underwent de novo catheter ablation using the stepwise approach (2007–2009). A total of 493 patients were included (Holter ECGs ≥every 6 months). Mean follow-up was 59±16 months with 2.1±1.1 procedures per patient. Single and multiple procedu…
5-Year Outcome of Pulmonary Vein Isolation by Loss of Pace Capture on the Ablation Line Versus Electrical Circumferential Pulmonary Vein Isolation
This study sought to compare long-term arrhythmia-free survival between electrical circumferential pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) and PVI with the endpoint of unexcitability along the ablation line.PVI is the standard ablation strategy of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, although arrhythmia recurrence in long-term follow-up (FU) is high. The endpoint of unexcitability along the ablation line results in decreased arrhythmia recurrence compared to electrical PVI in 1-year FU.Seventy-four consecutive patients (age 62.5 ± 10.6 years; 70.3% male) with de novo paroxysmal atrial fibrillation who were initially included in our randomized trial and underwent catheter ablation at our institution were …