Authors: Demosthenes Katritsis Kenneth A Ellenbogen Eleftherios Giazitzoglou Dimitrios Sougiannis George Paxinos Nicolaos Fragakis A John Camm
Publish Date: 2008/03/25
Volume: 22, Issue: 1, Pages: 31-37
Abstract
The exact mechanism of eliminating atrial fibrillation AF by catheter ablation techniques is not known We investigated whether the extent of atrial damage conferred by radiofrequency lesions is a predictor of success after ablation regardless of the method employed for ablationAt 1 year followup 16 out of 41 patients 39 with ostial–antral ablation and 16 out of 49 patients 326 with circumferential ablation had AF recurrences p = 05 The mean duration of radiofrequency ablation lesions was statistically significantly shorter in patients with recurrence of AF compared to those with sinus rhythm 1 year after ablation 223 ± 42 min vs 272 ± 45 min respectively p value 0001 Radiofrequency ablation time was inversely associated with the risk of recurrence of AF 1 year after ablation and this relationship remained even after adjustment for potential confounding factors such as age sex left atrial size and type of ablation technique ostial–antral or circumferential HR = 080 95 CI 072–087 p 0001
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