Atrial fibrillation and the risk of ischaemic strokes or intracranial haemorrhages: comparisons of the catheter ablation, medical therapy, and non-atrial fibrillation population

Abstract Aims Although atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation (AFCA) is an effective rhythm control strategy, there is limited data on whether ischaemic stroke (IS) or intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) decreases after AFCA compared with medical therapy or non-AF population. We explored the IS and ICH risk after AFCA or medical therapy in the AF population and matched non-AF population. Methods and results We compared 1629 patients with AFCA (Yonsei AF ablation cohort), 3258 with medical therapy [Korean National Health Insurance (NHIS) database], and 3258 non-AF subjects (NHIS database) following a 1:2:2 propensity score matching. All AFCA patients underwent regular rhythm follow-ups for 51 ± 29 months. Among the AFCA group, the incidence rate ratio (IRR) of ISs was significantly higher in patients with sustained AF recurrences after the last ablation (0.87%) than in those remaining in sinus rhythm (0.24%, P = 0.017; log rank P = 0.003). The IRR of ISs was significantly higher in the medical therapy (1.09%) than AFCA (0.30%, P < 0.001, log rank P < 0.001 vs. medical therapy) or non-AF groups (0.34%, P < 0.001, log rank P < 0.001 vs. medical therapy; P = 0.673, log rank P = 0.874 vs. AFCA). The IRR of ICHs was 0.17% in the medical therapy, 0.06% in the AFCA (P = 0.023, log rank P = 0.042 vs. medical therapy), and 0.12% in the non-AF group (P = 0.226, log rank P = 0.241 vs. medical therapy; P = 0.172, log rank P = 0.193 vs. AFCA). Conclusion Post-procedural AF control influences the risk of ISs. Atrial fibrillation catheter ablation significantly reduces the risk of both ISs and ICHs to the extent of the non-AF population compared to the medical therapy.

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Atrial fibrillation burden and the risks of ischemic stroke and intracranial hemorrhage: comparisons of catheter ablation, medical therapy, and non-atrial fibrillation population

European Heart Journal ◽

10.1093/ehjci/ehaa946.0559 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽

Author(s):

M Kim ◽

H.-T Yu ◽

T.-H Kim ◽

J.-S Uhm ◽

J.-H Seung ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Ischemic Stroke ◽

Catheter Ablation ◽

Medical Therapy ◽

Intracranial Hemorrhage ◽

Clinical Evidence ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Korean National Health Insurance ◽

Regular Rhythm

Abstract Background Although atrial fibrillation (AF) burden was known to be related to the risk of ischemic stroke (IS), clinical evidence regarding intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) or comparison of the patients after AF catheter ablation (AFCA) and the non-AF population are limited. Objective We explored the risks of IS and ICH after AFCA or medical therapy (Med) in the AF population and the matched non-AF population. Methods We compared 1,629 with AFCA (Yonsei AF cohort), 3,258 with Med (Korean National Health Insurance Sharing Service [KNHISS] database), and 3,258 non-AF population (KNHISS database) after 1:2:2 propensity-score match in terms of clinical characteristics and medications (57±12 years old, 22.1% female). IS and ICH were determined by ICD code, brain imaging, and hospital admission in Med and non-AF groups. All AFCA patients underwent regular rhythm follow-up, and the medications including antithrombotic therapies were evaluated for 52±23 months. Results 1. Among AFCA group, the annualized IS rate was significantly higher in the patients with sustaining recurrence of AF/atrial tachycardia (AT) after the last ablation procedure than those remaining in sinus rhythm (SR) (0.87% vs. 0.24%, p=0.017; HR 4.87 [1.36–17.49], p=0.015; log rank p=0.003). 2. The annualized ICH rate was 0% in SR group and 0.06% in sustaining recurrent AF/AT group after AFCA (p=0.361, log rank p=0.545). 3. The annualized IS rate was significantly higher in Med group (1.09%) than in AFCA group (0.30%, p<0.001, log rank p<0.001) or non-AF group (0.34%, p<0.001, log rank p<0.001). There was no significant difference in annualized IS rate between AFCA and non-AF groups (p=0.673, log rank p=0.874) 4. The annualized ICH rates were 0.17% in Med group, 0.06% AFCA group (p=0.023, log rank p=0.042 vs. Med; p=0.172, log rank p=0.193 vs. non-AF), and 0.12% in non-AF group (p=0.226, log rank p=0.241 vs. Med), respectively. Conclusion Post-procedural AF burden influence the risk of IS. AFCA significantly reduces the risks of both IS and ICH to the extent of non-AF population compared to Med group. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

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Cost-effectiveness of catheter ablation versus medical therapy for the treatment of atrial fibrillation in the United Kingdom

EP Europace ◽

10.1093/europace/euab116.531 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 23 (Supplement_3) ◽

Author(s):

L Leung ◽

RJ Imhoff ◽

D Frame ◽

PJ Mallow ◽

L Goldstein ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Catheter Ablation ◽

Medical Therapy ◽

Rhythm Control ◽

Uk National Health Service ◽

The Uk ◽

The Cost ◽

Af Recurrence

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Private company. Main funding source(s): This research study was funded by Biosense Webster, Inc. Dr Leung has received research support from Attune Medical (Chicago, IL) towards a research fellowship at St. George"s University of London. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. Background Randomised data on patient-related outcomes comparing catheter ablation to medical therapy for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) have shown the effectiveness of catheter ablation. Ablation versus medical therapy should also be analysed from a health economics perspective to achieve optimal healthcare resource allocation. Purpose To determine the cost effectiveness of catheter ablation compared to medical therapy for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, from the perspective of the UK National Health Service. Methods A patient-level Markov health-state transition model was used to conduct a cost utility analysis comparing catheter ablation and medical therapy for the treatment of AF. A systematic review and meta-analysis of catheter ablation treatment versus medical therapy (rhythm and/or rate control drugs) was conducted to enable comparison of AF recurrence between treatment groups utilising the model. Additional model parameters were established based upon a best-evidence review of the literature. The model simulated care delivered from a secondary care perspective. Total patients simulated in this model over a lifetime were 250,000, with patients entering the model at age 64. Only previously treated AF patients were included, including those with concomitant heart failure. A separate scenario analysis was conducted to determine the cost effectiveness specifically in the cohort of patients with AF and heart failure. Main outcomes measures Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) and average total expected costs and quality-of-life years (QALYs) incurred over the lifetime of a patient. AF recurrence, complications and cardiovascular adverse events were compared over the total duration inside the model. Results In the base case analysis, catheter ablation resulted in a favourable ICER of £8,614 per additional QALY gained when compared to medical therapy, well below the national Willingness-to-Pay threshold of £20,000. Catheter ablation was associated with an expected increase of 1.01 QALYs, while adding an additional cost £8,742 over a patient’s lifetime. The cost-effectiveness of catheter ablation was improved in the heart failure sub-group analysis, with an ICER of £6,438. A significantly greater proportion of patients in the medical therapy group failed rhythm control at any stage compared to catheter ablation (72% vs 24%) and at a faster rate (median time to treatment failure: 3.8 vs 10 years). Conclusion Catheter ablation appears to be a highly cost-effective treatment for atrial fibrillation, compared to medical therapy, from the perspective of the UK National Health Service. With low rates of adverse events and superiority in achieving rhythm control, AF ablation services should be prioritised with appropriate allocation of healthcare resources.

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Less dementia after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: a nationwide cohort study

European Heart Journal ◽

10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa726 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (47) ◽

pp. 4483-4493 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Daehoon Kim ◽

Pil-Sung Yang ◽

Jung-Hoon Sung ◽

Eunsun Jang ◽

Hee Tae Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Catheter Ablation ◽

Confidence Interval ◽

Medical Therapy ◽

Hazard Ratio ◽

Dementia Risk ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Ablation Success ◽

Korean National Health Insurance

Abstract Aims Accumulating evidence shows that atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with an increased risk of dementia. Catheter ablation for AF prolongs the duration of sinus rhythm, thereby improving the quality of life. We investigated the association of catheter ablation for AF with the occurrence of dementia. Methods and results Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, among 194 928 adults with AF treated with ablation or medical therapy (antiarrhythmic or rate control drugs) between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2015, we studied 9119 patients undergoing ablation and 17 978 patients managed with medical therapy. The time-at-risk was counted from the first medical therapy, and ablation was analysed as a time-varying exposure. Propensity score-matching was used to correct for differences between the groups. During a median follow-up of 52 months, compared with patients with medical therapy, ablated patients showed lower incidence and risk of overall dementia (8.1 and 5.6 per 1000 person-years, respectively; hazard ratio 0.73, 95% confidence interval 0.58–0.93). The associations between ablation and dementia risk were consistently observed after additionally censoring for incident stroke (hazard ratio 0.76, 95% confidence interval 0.61–0.95) and more pronounced in cases of ablation success whereas no significant differences observed in cases of ablation failure. Ablation was associated with lower risks of dementia subtypes including Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Conclusion In this nationwide cohort of AF patients treated with catheter ablation or medical therapy, ablation was associated with decreased dementia risk. This relationship was evident after censoring for stroke and adjusting for clinical confounders.

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Utilisation of Robotic Navigation Systems in the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation

European Cardiology Review ◽

10.15420/ecr.2010.6.3.60 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 60

Author(s):

Richard Schilling ◽

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Catheter Ablation ◽

Navigation System ◽

Antiarrhythmic Drugs ◽

Rhythm Control ◽

Navigation Systems ◽

Robotic Navigation ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Common Strategy ◽

Catheter Navigation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is linked to an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events. While rhythm control with antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) is a common strategy for managing patients with AF, catheter ablation may be a more efficacious and safer alternative to AADs for sinus rhythm control. Conventional catheter ablation has been associated with challenges during the arrhythmia mapping and ablation stages; however, the introduction of two remote catheter navigation systems (a robotic and a magnetic navigation system) may potentially overcome these challenges. Initial clinical experience with the robotic navigation system suggests that it offers similar procedural times, efficacy and safety to conventional manual ablation. Furthermore, it has been associated with reduced fluoroscopy exposure to the patient and the operator as well as a shorter fluoroscopy time compared with conventional catheter ablation. In the future, the remote navigation systems may become routinely used for complex catheter ablation procedures.

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Catheter ablation can improve survival with the reduction of heart failure in frail patients with atrial fibrillation

European Heart Journal ◽

10.1093/ehjci/ehaa946.0557 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽

Author(s):

B Joung ◽

P.S Yang ◽

J.H Sung ◽

E Jang ◽

H.T Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Myocardial Infarction ◽

Heart Failure ◽

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Acute Myocardial Infarction ◽

Catheter Ablation ◽

Real World ◽

Background Characteristics ◽

Risk Of Death ◽

Frail Patients ◽

Korean National Health Insurance

Abstract Background It is unclear whether catheter ablation is beneficial in frail patients with AF. Purpose This study aimed to evaluate whether catheter ablation reduces death and other outcomes in real-world frail patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods Out of 801,710 patients with AF in the Korean National Health Insurance Service database from 2006 to 2015, 1,411 frail patients underwent AF ablations. The Hospital Frailty Risk Score were calculated retrospectively. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was used to categorize ablation and non-ablation frail groups. Results After IPTW, the two cohorts had similar background characteristics. During a median follow-up of 4.7 years (interquartile range: 2.2–7.8), the risk of death in frail patients with ablations was reduced by 65% compared to frail patients without ablations (2.0 and 6.4 per 100 person-years, respectively; hazard ratio [HR] 0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.25–0.50; P<0.001). Ablations were related with a lower incidence and risk of heart failure admission (1.8 and 3.1 per 100 person-years, respectively; HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.44–0.98; P=0.042) and acute myocardial infarction (0.2 and 0.6 per 100 person-years, respectively; HR 0.30, 95% CI 0.15–0.62; P=0.001). However, the risk of stroke did not change after ablation. Conclussion Ablation may be associated with lower incidences of death, heart failure, and acute myocardial infarction in real-world frail patients with AF, supporting the role of AF ablation in these patients. The effect of frailty risk on the outcome of ablation should be evaluated in further studies. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

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Abstract 13597: Association Between Antiarrhythmic Drug Therapy Prescription in the Blanking Period and Recurrent Atrial Arrhythmias After First-time Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.142.suppl_3.13597 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽

Author(s):

Chaitanya L Malladi ◽

Michael Eskander ◽

Florentino Lupercio ◽

Frederick Han ◽

Kurt S Hoffmayer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Catheter Ablation ◽

Late Recurrence ◽

Early Recurrence ◽

Limited Data ◽

Antiarrhythmic Drug Therapy ◽

Reduce Risk ◽

Artery Disease ◽

First Time ◽

Multivariable Adjustment

Introduction: Antiarrhythmic drugs (AAD) are often prescribed in the blanking period (BP) after catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) to reduce risk of early recurrence (ER) and late recurrence (LR). There are limited data on which AAD to use during the BP. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that specific AADs may be associated with reduced risk of ER and/or LR after ablation. Methods: A total of 478 consecutive patients (mean age 64.2 years, 67.2% male) undergoing first-time pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) ablation at a single institution were included. Outcomes of interest were: freedom from ER, freedom from LR, initial discontinuation of AAD less than 90 days after ablation, and freedom from second ablation. ER was defined as AF, atrial flutter (AFL), or atrial tachycardia (AT) > 30 seconds within the BP. LR was defined as AF/AFL/AT > 30 seconds occurring after the BP. Results: Of 478 patients, 14.9% (n = 71) were on no AAD, 26.4% (n = 126) were on propafenone/flecainide, 34.5% (n = 165) were on sotalol/dofetilide, 10.7% (n = 51) were on dronedarone, and 13.6% (n = 65) were on amiodarone. Patients on amiodarone were older, had higher BMI, and were more likely to have persistent AF, hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, and coronary artery disease. In unadjusted analyses, there were no differences between groups with regards to the risk of ER (log rank P = 0.171), discontinuation of AAD before ninety days post-ablation (log rank P = 0.235), or freedom from second ablation (log rank P = 0.147). After multivariable adjustment, patients on amiodarone or dronedarone were more likely to experience LR than those on no AAD [Adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR) 1.83, 95% CI 1.10-3.04, p=0.02 for amiodarone; AHR 1.79, 95% CI 1.05-3.05, p=0.03 for dronedarone]. Conclusions: Following first-time AF catheter ablation, there were no differences between the presence or absence of AAD and risk of ER, while those prescribed amiodarone or dronedarone in the BP were more likely to experience LR than those on no AAD.

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Rhythm control: surgical ablation

ESC CardioMed ◽

10.1093/med/9780198784906.003.0510 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 2173-2177

Author(s):

Chawannuch Ruaengsri ◽

Matthew R. Schill ◽

Richard B. Schuessler ◽

Ralph J. Damiano

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Catheter Ablation ◽

Treatment Option ◽

Surgical Procedures ◽

Antiarrhythmic Drugs ◽

Cardiac Surgical Procedures ◽

Rhythm Control ◽

Maze Procedure ◽

Hybrid Procedures ◽

Surgical Ablation

Surgical ablation for atrial fibrillation was introduced in 1987 and has since become well established as a treatment option for patients with symptomatic atrial fibrillation refractory to antiarrhythmic drugs and/or catheter ablation or patients who are having concomitant cardiac surgical procedures. The Cox–Maze procedure has been improved upon by modern variations using ablation devices. More limited ablation procedures and hybrid procedures have been introduced, but their efficacy requires further investigation.

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Recent advances in rhythm control for atrial fibrillation

F1000Research ◽

10.12688/f1000research.11061.1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 1796 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Richard Bond ◽

Brian Olshansky ◽

Paulus Kirchhof

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Catheter Ablation ◽

Sinus Rhythm ◽

Pulmonary Vein ◽

Pulmonary Vein Isolation ◽

Rate Control ◽

Rhythm Control ◽

Management Problem ◽

Recent Trial ◽

Control Therapy

Atrial fibrillation (AF) remains a difficult management problem. The restoration and maintenance of sinus rhythm—rhythm control therapy—can markedly improve symptoms and haemodynamics for patients who have paroxysmal or persistent AF, but some patients fare well with rate control alone. Sinus rhythm can be achieved with anti-arrhythmic drugs or electrical cardioversion, but the maintenance of sinus rhythm without recurrence is more challenging. Catheter ablation of the AF triggers is more effective than anti-arrhythmic drugs at maintaining sinus rhythm. Whilst pulmonary vein isolation is an effective strategy, other ablation targets are being evaluated to improve sinus rhythm maintenance, especially in patients with chronic forms of AF. Previously extensive ablation strategies have been used for patients with persistent AF, but a recent trial has shown that pulmonary vein isolation without additional ablation lesions is associated with outcomes similar to those of more extensive ablation. This has led to an increase in catheter-based technology to achieve durable pulmonary vein isolation. Furthermore, a combination of anti-arrhythmic drugs and catheter ablation seems useful to improve the effectiveness of rhythm control therapy. Two large ongoing trials evaluate whether a modern rhythm control therapy can improve prognosis in patients with AF.

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