Clinical outcomes after catheter ablation of atrial arrhythmias guided
by ultra-high density mapping system in heart failure patients
Abstract
Introduction: Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF)
and/or atrial tachycardia (AT) in heart failure (HF) patients provides
improvement in symptoms cardiac function and survival. However, these
procedures remain challenging with higher recurrence and complication
rates compared to patients with normal cardiac function. We aimed to
compare outcomes of AF/AT ablations guided by an ultra-high density
mapping system between HF patients and controls. Methods and
results: Primary endpoint was the one-year recurrence rate of AF/AT. We
retrospectively examined all Rhythmia™-guided procedures performed in
Caen and Toulouse University Hospitals between 2015 and 2018 for AF/AT.
Patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (i.e.
<50%), or with preserved LVEF and signs/symptoms of HF were
constituted the HF group and were subsequently classified in two
subgroups of HF patients with preserved (HFpEF) or reduced/mildly
reduced (HFrEF) LVEF. 246 patients were included, 135 in the HF group.
At one-year, 71 patients had experienced AF/AT recurrences, with no
difference between HF group versus non-HF group (31.9 vs 25.2%
respectively, p=0.262). AF/AT recurrence rates were not different
between HFpEF and HFrEF subgroups (37.1 vs 26.4% respectively,
p=0.196). In multivariate analysis, patients with mitral regurgitation
(p=0.011), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (p=0.011) and persistent AF
(p=0.02) were at higher risk of recurrence. AF/AT recurrence was not
significantly associated with HF hospitalization (p=0.078) but HF status
was the only independent predictive factor of HF hospitalization
(p=0.002). Patients in the HF group showed significant improvement in
both their NYHA class and LVEF than non-HF patients. After ablation
procedures, while patients with HFrEF and HFpEF showed similar NYHA
class improvement, LVEF only improved in HFrEF patients. The rate of
complications were comparable in both groups. Conclusion:
Clinical outcomes of AF/AT ablations guided by UHD mapping system appear
similar in HF and non-HF patients. During the follow-up period, patients
with HF exhibit improvement of NYHA status and LVEF.