Sex differences in complications of catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: results on 85,977 patients

Purpose Catheter ablation (CA) is an effective treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF). The differences in complication rates and outcomes between women and men remain poorly studied. We aimed to study the sex differences in morbidity and mortality associated with CA in AF. Methods Using weighted sampling from the National Inpatient Sample database, women and men with a primary diagnosis of AF and a primary procedure of CA (2004–2013) were identified. We compared the following outcomes based on the sex: (1) major complications [post-procedure transfusion, cardiac drain or surgery, pulmonary embolism, cerebrovascular accident, major cardiac events, kidney failure requiring dialysis, and sepsis], (2) overall complications (minor and/or major complications), and (3) in-hospital mortality. Results Among 85,977 patients who underwent CA for AF, 27821 (32.4%) were women. Overall complications were more frequent among women versus among men (12.4% versus 9.0%; p