Abstract 15065: Impact of Ablation Strategy on Left Ventricular Function Following Catheter Ablation in Patients With Long-standing Persistent Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure: Results From a Single-center Study

Abstract

Background: Ablation strategy for long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation (LSPAF) is highly variable with diverse outcomes. Objective: We evaluated the change in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) with different ablation approaches in LSPAF patients with heart failure (HF). Methods: Consecutive LSPAF patients with HF (LVEF <40%) undergoing their first catheter ablation at our center were included in the analysis. Based on the ablation strategy determined by the operators, patients were classified into two groups; group 1: received standard ablation (PV isolation+ isolation of left atrial posterior wall and superior vena cava) and group 2: standard ablation plus isolation of coronary sinus (CS) and left atrial appendage (LAA). High-dose isoproterenol challenge (20-30 μg for 10-15 min) was utilized to reveal LAA and CS triggers; electrical isolation was the procedural endpoint for LAA and CS ablation. If PVs were electrically silent due to presence of severe scar, LAA and CS were empirically isolated even in the absence of detectable triggers. LVEF was measured by transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) performed at baseline and 6 months post-ablation. Patients were monitored for arrhythmia-recurrence off-antiarrhythmic drugs (AAD) as per our standard protocol. Results: Group 1 included 52 patients and group 2 had 106. Baseline characteristics were comparable across groups (age: 66.2 ± 7.3 and 64.4 ± 9.4; male: 41 (78.8%) and 87 (82.1%); BMI: 32.3 ± 6.8 and 30.4 ± 6.4 in group 1 and 2). Mean baseline LVEF (%) was 36.2±5.5 and 35.1±8.3 in group 1 and 2 respectively (p=NS). At the 6-month TEE, mean LVEF was significantly higher than the baseline value in group 2 (47.7±11 vs 35.1±8.3, p<0.001), whereas in group 1, although there was a positive trend, the change was statistically non-significant (39.4±10 vs. 36.2±5.5, p=0.36). A total of 7 (13.5%) patients from group 1 and 89 (84%) from group 2 were arrhythmia-free off-AAD at 1.5 year of follow-up (p<0.001). Conclusion: In our study population, ablation strategy including LAA and CS isolation along with the standard ablation resulted in significant improvement in the LVEF as well as higher rate of arrhythmia-free survival.