Efficacy, safety, and outcome of atrial fibrillation ablation in septuagenarians.

Aims: Catheter ablation is an effective treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF). The outcome of AF ablation in septuagenarians is not clear. Our aim was to evaluate success rate, outcome, and complication rate of AF ablation in septuagenarians.

Methods And Results: We collected data from 174 consecutive patients over 75 years of age who underwent AF ablation from 2001 to 2006. AF was paroxysmal in 55%. High-risk CHADS score (>or=2) was present in 65% of the population. Over a mean follow-up of 20 +/- 14 months, 127 (73%) maintained sinus rhythm (SR) with a single procedure, whereas 47 patients had recurrence of AF. Twenty of them had a second ablation, successful in 16 (80%). Major acute complications included one CVA and one hemothorax (2/194 [1.0%]). During the follow-up, three patients had a CVA within the first 6 weeks after ablation. Warfarin was discontinued in 138 out 143 patients (96%) who maintained SR without AADs with no embolic event occurring over a mean follow-up of 16 +/- 12 months.

Conclusion: AF ablation is a safe and effective treatment for AF in septuagenarians.