4.1 Baseline and procedure characteristics
Patient characteristics are shown in Table 1. LVAs existed in 143 of 405 (35.3%) patients. Patients with LVAs were older, more likely to be female, had a higher CHA2DS2-VASc score, and larger left atrial diameter. Heart failure, pacemaker implantation, and non-paroxysmal AF were more common in patients with LVAs than in those without.
Ablation lesions created during the initial ablation are shown in Table 2. PVI was completed in all patients. There was no difference in modalities used for PVI between patients with and without LVAs (radiofrequency catheter, 68% vs. 78%; cryoballoon catheter, 31% vs. 20%; laser balloon catheter, 1% vs. 1%; p=0.06). No severe procedure-related complications such as cardiac tamponade, stroke, esophageal injury, or major bleeding were observed. Patients with LVAs more frequently underwent additional ablations such as LVA ablation and left atrial linear ablations.