Outcomes of radiofrequency catheter ablation for persistent and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation.

Objective: To assess one-year outcomes in patients with persistent and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) treated by catheter ablation.

Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted of consecutive patients referred for catheter ablation of persistent or long-standing persistent AF between May 2016 and October 2018. Patients underwent two different ablation strategies: pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) plus complex fractionated atrial electrograms (CFAE) (from May 2016 to June 2017) or a tailored approach (from July 2017 to October 2018). The overall recurrence rate at one year was analyzed. The secondary endpoint was arrhythmia recurrence according to the type of AF (persistent vs. long-standing persistent AF) and according to the ablation strategy employed.

Results: During the study period, 67 patients were included (40% with long-standing persistent AF). During a mean follow-up of 16±6 months, 27% of the patients had arrhythmia recurrence. Patients with long-standing persistent AF had a higher recurrence rate than those with persistent AF (44.4% vs. 15%, p=0.006), while patients who underwent a tailored approach presented better outcomes than those undergoing PVI plus CFAE ablation (17.5% vs. 40.7%, p=0.024). Ablation strategy (HR 6.457 [1.399-29.811], p=0.017), time in continuous AF (HR 1.191 [1.043-1.259], p=0.010) and left atrial volume index (HR 1.160 [1.054-1.276], p=0.002) were independent predictors of arrhythmia recurrence.

Conclusion: Catheter ablation is an effective treatment for patients with persistent and long-standing persistent AF. Patients with persistent AF and those undergoing a tailored approach presented lower arrhythmia recurrence.