The Impact of Pulmonary Vein Anatomy on the Outcomes of Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Prior studies have identified a number of predictors for Atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation success, including comorbidities, the type of AF, and left atrial (LA) size. Ectopic foci in the initiation of paroxysmal AF are frequently found in pulmonary veins. Our aim was to assess how pulmonary vein anatomy influences the recurrence of atrial fibrillation after radiofrequency catheter ablation. Materials and Methods: Eighty patients diagnosed with paroxysmal or persistent AF underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) between November 2016 and December 2017. All of these patients underwent computed tomography before AF ablation. PV anatomy was classified according to the presence of common PVs or accessory PVs. Several clinical and imagistic parameters were recorded. After hospital discharge, all patients were scheduled for check-up in an outpatient clinic at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after RFCA to detect AF recurrence. Results: A total of 80 consecutive patients, aged 53.8 ± 9.6 years, 54 (67.5%) men and 26 (32.5%) women were enrolled. The majority of patients had paroxysmal AF 53 (66.3%). Regular PV anatomy (2 left PVs, 2 right PVs) was identified in 59 patients (73.7%), a left common trunk (LCT) was detected in 15 patients (18.7%), an accessory right middle pulmonary vein (RMPV) was found in 5 patients (6.25%) and one patient presented both an LCT and an RMPV. The median follow-up duration was 14 (12; 15) months. Sinus rhythm was maintained in 50 (62.5%) patients. Age, gender, antiarrhythmic drugs, and the presence of cardiac comorbidities were not predictive of AF recurrence. The diagnosis of persistent AF before RFCA was more closely associated with an increase in recurrent AF after RFCA than after paroxysmal AF (p = 0.01). Longer procedure times (>265 min) were associated with AF recurrence (p = 0.04). Patients with an LA volume index of over 48.5 (mL/m2) were more likely to present AF recurrence (p = 0.006). Multivariate analysis of recurrence risk showed that only the larger LA volume index and variant PV anatomy were independently associated with AF recurrence. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that an increased volume of the left atrium was the most important predictive factor for the risk of AF recurrence after catheter ablation. Variant anatomy of PV was the only other independent predictive factor associated with a higher rate of AF recurrence.