MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS

23-10-2009-Outcomes and complications of catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation in females.

Heart Rhythm. 2009 Oct 23. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 20022814 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Patel D, Mohanty P, Di Biase L, Sanchez JE, Shaheen MH, Burkhardt JD, Bassouni M, Cummings J, Wang Y, Lewis WR, Diaz A, Horton RP, Beheiry S, Hongo R, Gallinghouse GJ, Zagrodzky JD, Bailey SM, Al-Ahmad A, Wang P, Schweikert RA, Natale A.

St. David's Medical Center, Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, Austin, Texas, USA.

BACKGROUND: Most atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation studies have consisted predominantly of males; accordingly, there is a paucity of information on the safety and efficacy of catheter ablation in a large cohort of female AF patients. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate catheter ablation for AF in female patients. METHODS: From January 2005 to May 2008, 3265 females underwent pulmonary vein antrum isolation. Success rates, patient profiles, and complications were collected. RESULTS: Approximately 16% of our population was female (P <.001). Females were older (59 +/- 13 vs. 56 +/- 19 years; P <.01) and had a lower prevalence of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF; 46% vs. 55%; P <.001). Females failed more antiarrhythmics (4 +/- 1 vs. 2 +/- 3; P = .04) and were referred later for catheter ablation (6.51 +/- 7 vs. 4.85 +/- 6.5 years; P = .02) than males. More females failed ablation (31.5% vs. 22.5%; P = .001) and had nonantral sites of firing than males (P <.001). Female patients had 11 (2.1%) hematomas versus 27 (0.9%) in males. CONCLUSIONS: Five times as many males underwent catheter ablation than females. Females failed more ablations possibly because of a higher prevalence of nonantral firing, non-PAF, and longer history of AF. Females had more bleeding complications than males.