Objective: To evaluate the possible predictive factors for recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after radio-frequency catheter ablation (RFCA).
Methods: Eighty patients, aged 53.8 ± 9.6 years, 54 (67.5%) men and 26 (32.5%) women, diagnosed with paroxysmal or persistent AF underwent RFCA betwe-en November 2016 and December 2017. Several cli-nical and imagistic parameters were recorded. Anti-arrhythmic drug therapy was prescribed for at least 3 months following RFCA. After hospital discharge, all patients were scheduled for check-up in an outpatient clinic at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after RFCA. The presen-ce of symptoms of AF, documented arrhythmia recur-rences were noted. Ambulatory Holter monitoring was performed for 24 h to detect symptomatic or asympto-matic AF recurrences.
Results: T he majority of patients before RFCA, had paroxysmal AF 53 (66.3%). The median follow-up duration was 14 (12; 15) months. Sinus rhythm was maintained in 50 (62.5%) patients. Age, gender, anti-aritmic drugs, the presence of cardiac comorbidities were not predictive for AF recurrence. The diagnosis of persistent AF before RFCA was associated with an increase in recurrent AF after RFCA than paroxysmal AF (p=0.01). Longer procedure times (>265 minutes) were associated with AF recurrence (p=0.04). Patients with left atrium diameter over 40 mm, were more li-kely to present AF recurrence (p=0.006). Multivariate analysis of recurrence risk showed that only the larger left atrium was independently associated with AF re-currence.
Conclusions: Enlarged left atrium was the only inde-pendent predictive factor for AF recurrence, at one year after RFCA for paroxysmal or persistent AF.