Efficacy and safety of the second generation cryoballoon ablation for the treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in patients over 75 years: a comparison with a younger cohort

Abstract

In this double centre, retrospective study, we aimed to analyse the 1-year efficacy and safety of cryoballoon ablation (CB-A) in patients older than 75 years compared with those younger than 75-years old. Fifty-three consecutive patients aged 75 years or older with drug-resistant paroxysmal AF (PAF) who underwent pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) by the means of second generation CB-A, were compared with 106 patients aged <75 years. The mean age in the study group (>75 years) was 78.19 ± 2.7 years and 58.97 ± 8.5 in the control group. At 1-year follow-up the global success rate was 83.6% and did not significantly differ between older (10/53) and younger patients (16/106) (81.1 vs. 84.9%, P = 0.54). Transient phrenic nerve palsy was the most common complication which occurred in eight patients in the younger group and in three in the older group (7.5 vs. 5.7%, respectively, P = 0.66). The results of our study showed that CB-A for the treatment of PAF is a feasible and safe procedure in elderly patients, with similar success and complications rates when compared with a younger population.