Long‐Term Follow‐Up After Right Atrial Radiofrequency Catheter Treatment of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
- 1 November 1998
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology
- Vol. 21 (11) , 2533-2538
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-8159.1998.tb01214.x
Abstract
Catheter ablation of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation using long linear lesions in the right atrium is still under investigation, and its long‐term follow‐up is unknown. Methods: Thirty‐six men and nine women (aged 51 ± 12 years) with symptomatic daily episodes of AF for 6 ± 5 years despite the use of 4.7 ± 1.5 antiarrhythmic drugs were studied between July 1994 and January 1996. Progressively longer ablation lines were performed in 3 groups of 15 consecutive patients each, using a 14‐electrode catheter or a single‐electrode dragging technique. Success was defined as atrial fibrillation elimination or recurrence for no longer than 6 hours over 3 months of observation. Patients who had fewer than 6 hours of atrial fibrillation per month were considered “improved.” Medium‐ (11 ± 4 months) and long‐term (26 ± 5 months) results were assessed clinically from a patient's diary and from Holter recordings. Results: After a follow‐up of 11 months, 24 patients had a favorable result of the ablation procedure with or without additional antiarrhythmic drug therapy, representing 53% of the original cohort. After 26 ± 5 months of follow‐up, these successful results were reduced to 17 patients (37%). Conclusions: After linear atrial ablation, a significant long‐term attrition of arrhythmia‐free patients was observed. This may be due to a combination of disease progression, incomplete linear block, and ineffective ablation of arrhythmogenic triggers.Keywords
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