Antiarrhythmic drug responders among patients with recurrent atrial fibrillation after catheter ablation
Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): The Ministry of Health and Welfare The National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Backgroud Sinus rhythm (SR) can be maintained with antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) in a considerable number of patients with recurrent atrial fibrillation (AF) after AF catheter ablation (AFCA). Purpose We explored the characteristics and long-term outcomes of patients who maintained clinically acceptable rhythm control with AADs for 2 years. Methods Among 2,935 consecutive AAD-resistant patients who underwent a de novo AFCA, we included 512 recurrent patients (73.0% men, 59.2 ± 10.5 years old, 56.4% paroxysmal AF) who were followed up for over 2 years under AAD medications. Results In total, 218 patients remained in SR (AAD-responders[2-yrs], 42.6%) and 294 had recurrent AF among whom, 162 underwent repeat procedures (redo-AFCA[AAD failure-2-yrs]). We also compared the AAD-responders[2-yrs] with 40 patients who underwent AFCA before AADs (redo-AFCA[Before AAD]). AAD-responders[2-yrs] were independently associated with an old age (odds ratio [OR] 1.02 [1.00-1.04] p = 0.037), paroxysmal AF (OR 1.51 [1.04-2.19] p = 0.003), and a delayed recurrence timing of > 18 months (OR 1.52 [1.04-2.22] p = 0.032). When comparing the AAD-responder[2-yrs] and redo-AFCA[AAD failure-2-yrs] groups, the recurrence pattern showed a convergence after 7 years. The overall rhythm outcome was better in the redo-AFCA[Before AAD] group than AAD group (log rank p = 0.013). Conclusion Among the patients with recurrent AF after AFCA, over 40% remained in SR with AADs for 2 years, especially those who were old, those with a paroxysmal type, and those who had a delayed recurrence timing of >18 months after the de novo procedure. UnivariateMultivariateOdds Ratio(95% CI)p valueOdds Ratio(95% CI)p valueAge1.02 (1.00-1.04)0.0231.02 (1.00-1.04)0.037Female1.64 (1.11-2.42)0.0141.29 (0.85-1.95)0.236PAF1.58 (1.11-2.26)0.0121.51 (1.04-2.19)0.030Time to recurrence after the initial AFCA >18mo*1.59 (1.11-2.30)0.0131.52 (1.04-2.22)0.032LA dimension, mm0.99 (0.96-1.02)0.360LV ejection fraction, %1.03 (1.01-1.06)0.0111.02 (0.997-1.046)0.081Heart failure0.65 (0.34-1.24)0.192Hypertension1.18 (0.83-1.67)0.358Diabetes1.01 (0.65-1.71)0.844Stroke or TIA0.96 (0.56-1.66)0.879Vascular disease1.43 (0.88-2.31)0.151Logistic regression analysis for AAD responders Abstract Figure. K-M analysis of AF-free survival rate