Clinical Outcomes of Catheter Substrate Ablation for High-Risk Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Clinical Outcomes of Catheter Substrate Ablation for High-Risk Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Koonlawee Nademanee, Mark C. Schwab, Erol M. Kosar, Margaret Karwecki, Michael D. Moran, Nithi Visessook, Anthony Don Michael, Tachapong Ngarmukos An observational study was conducted to determine the long-term outcomes of 635 atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with a high risk of stroke after AF ablation. After the mean follow-up period of 836 ± 605 days, 517 were in sinus rhythm (SR) (81.4%). Sinus rhythm was the most important independent favorable parameter for survival, whereas old age was unfavorable. Warfarin therapy was discontinued in 434 patients (73%) whose annual stroke rate was only 0.4% compared with 2% in those with continuing warfarin treatment (p = 0.004). The study clearly shows that SR after substrate ablation is a marker for a relatively low mortality rate and stroke risk.