Impact of atrial mitral and tricuspid regurgitation on atrial fibrillation recurrence after ablation.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) induces functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) and tricuspid regurgitation (FTR) during atrial remodeling. FMR and FTR are associated with AF prognosis, but the effects for AF recurrence after ablation have not been determined conclusively.

Methods: Two hundred thirty nine patients who underwent AF ablation were enrolled. Forty five patients were excluded. In total, 194 patients were analyzed. FMR and FTR were assessed by echocardiography. The left atrial volume index (LAVI) was evaluated by contrast-enhanced computed tomography.

Results: Significant FMR and moderate FTR were observed in 15 (7.7%) and in 25 (12.9%) patients, respectively. The severity of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) significant correlated with age, NT-proBNP, and LAVI. During a 13.4 month follow-up period of, 39 patients (20.1%) demonstrated AF recurrence. In the Cox proportional-hazards model, E/e', FTR, and LAVI, were termed as predictor factors of AF recurrence (E/e'. hazard ratio [HR] = 1.117; P = 0.019, significant FTR. HR = 4.679; P = 0.041, LAVI. HR = 1.057; P = 0.003). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that AF recurrence was more frequent in FTR compared with the nonsignificant FTR cases (log-rank, P = 0.001). Although survival analysis showed no difference with or without FMR, the presence of FMR and FTR was strongly associated with high-AF recurrence (log-rank, P = 0.004).

Conclusions: AF recurrence was associated with E/e', LAVI, and extensive FTR. Specifically, the combination of FTR and FMR markedly worsens the AF prognosis.