Study population
Patients with persistent or long-standing persistent AF who were
scheduled for CA and enrolled at the Japan Red Cross Yokohama City Bay
Hospital from January 2018 to July 2020 were included in this study.
Patients were excluded if they had
an allergy to the contrast agent, renal dysfunction, or severe mitral
valve disease, or were intolerant to oral anticoagulants. All patients
were prescribed oral anticoagulants for at least 4 weeks prior to the CA
procedure. The study protocol was approved by the ethics committee of
the Japan Red Cross Yokohama City Bay Hospital, and written informed
consent was obtained from all the participants before study initiation.