Effect of Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation on Heart Failure Readmission Rates

Atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) cause numerous hospital admissions. We investigated if AF increases readmissions in patients with HF and whether AF ablation alters readmissions for HF exacerbations. The 2013 Nationwide Readmissions Database was analyzed for all-cause 90-day readmissions, after discharge for HF exacerbation. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to compare hazard rates for readmissions due to HF exacerbation, after recent ablation versus no ablation. There were 885,270 admissions for HF exacerbation of which 364,447 had coexisting AF. All-cause 90-day readmission rates were higher in patients with HF with coexisting AF versus those without AF (41.4% vs 37.6%, p