Patient Characteristics
The AF patients were divided into two groups: patients without AF/AT recurrence (n=46) and those with AF/AT recurrence (n=27). The patient characteristics are shown in Table 1 . The patients included 19 with persistent AF and 54 with longstanding persistent AF (mean duration 25±18 months). The mean LA diameter (LAD) and LA volume were 45±6.1 mm and 142±30 ml, respectively. The patient characteristics and laboratory data except for the LV ejection fraction did not significantly differ between the two groups. None except for 6 (2 with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, 3 with mitral regurgitation, and 1 with old myocardial infarctions) had structural heart disease.