Abstract 13280: Obesity is Associated With 1-year Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence After Catheter Ablation in Caucasians but Not in African Americans

Abstract

Introduction: Observational studies have noted an association between body mass index (BMI) and recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after catheter ablation. However, there is limited data on this association in a multi-racial cohort. We seek to describe AF recurrence after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) of obese and non-obese patients stratified by race. Hypothesis: The association between BMI and recurrence of AF after PVI differs between Caucasians and African Americans. Methods: Caucasian and African American patients undergoing PVI at the University of Chicago from March 2016 to November 2018 were included. Patients were followed for up to 12 months. Not obese was characterized by BMI < 30kg/m 2 and obese as BMI ≥ 30kg/m 2 . Results: Among 217 consecutive patients, 69 (31.8%) were female with an average age of 64.2 years (range 24 - 89). Forty-four (20.3%) of patients were African American. There were 105 (48.4%) obese patients. No differences were observed in rates of valvular disease between non-obese and obese patients. Obesity was significant in determining time to AF recurrence after PVI (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 3.17, 95% CI 1.71 to 5.87, p < 0.001). When adjusted for age, gender, smoking status, hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and type of atrial fibrillation, Caucasians had a significant association between obesity and time to recurrence (aHR 3.34, 95% CI 1.91 to 5.85), whereas African Americans had no association between obesity and time to recurrence (aHR 0.87, 95% CI 0.31 - 2.42). This association remained when stratified by AF type. Conclusions: In this multi-racial registry of patients undergoing catheter based PVI, a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 was associated with a higher likelihood of atrial fibrillation recurrence within 12 months for the Caucasian group but not amongst African Americans. These results suggest that in African Americans, obesity is less associated with recurrence of atrial fibrillation after PVI.