Improvement in ejection fraction after cryoballoon pulmonary vein isolation for atrial fibrillation in individuals with systolic dysfunction.

Abstract

Cryoballoon pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is commonly used for rhythm control of atrial fibrillation (AF). Data are limited examining the outcomes of cryoballoon PVI in patients with systolic dysfunction. We evaluate the impact of cryoballoon PVI in patients with systolic dysfunction. We evaluated a single-center prospective registry of patients undergoing cryoballoon PVI between 8/2011 and 6/2016. Patients with systolic dysfunction (EF < 55%) between the time of AF diagnosis and their cryoballoon PVI procedure were assessed for AF recurrence at 6months and 1year post-procedure, with a 3-month blanking period. Final analysis included 66 patients with systolic dysfunction undergoing cryoballoon PVI. An AF diagnosis for ≥ 1year prior to PVI was present in 62.1% (n = 41), and 53.0% (n = 35) had systolic dysfunction for ≥ 1year pre-procedure. The proportion of AF-free patients at 1year was 51.5%. Of patients with echocardiograms performed at 1year (n = 43), a greater proportion of individuals without AF recurrence had an improvement in EF of ≥ 10% than in those with AF recurrence (54.2% vs. 25.0%, p = 0.039). Of the patients who had systolic dysfunction at the time of the ablation (EF < 55%), there was a significant increase in EF post-procedure (36.5% pre-procedure vs. 48.3% post-procedure, mean change 11.8%, p < 0.001). In patients with systolic dysfunction, cryoballoon PVI provides an acceptable AF recurrence-free rate at 1year. AF recurrence-free individuals were more likely to have improvement in EF. Further evaluation is needed to determine the potential role of early cryoballoon PVI in patients with a new diagnosis of systolic dysfunction and AF.