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Studies show success rates on the rise for catheter ablation procedures
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Better overall success rates and lower complication rates were reported in the second survey.
Success rates of catheter ablation procedures for atrial fibrillation increased between 1995 and 2006, according to results from an international survey.
Riccardo Cappato, MD, an electrophysiologist with the Instituto Policlinico San Donator in Milan, Italy, presented the results from the Second Worldwide Survey on the Efficacy and Safety of Catheter Ablation for AF. Cappato was elected chair of the steering committee in 2002 that assembled and conducted the second international survey.
The original survey was conducted between 1995 and 2002, and included 8,745 patients who underwent a total of 12,830 ablation procedures. According to Cappato, the success rate for catheter ablation procedures among the population was 52% of patients free of antiarrhythmic drugs.
“The purpose of the first survey was to update on a large scale the methods, safety and efficacy of curative catheter ablation of AF collected between the period between 1995 and 2002,” Cappato said. “Ninety centers were providing full disclosure of the safety and efficacy label.”
Data from a second survey conducted between 2003 and 2006 was collected from 85 centers and included a total of 16,309 patients undergoing 20,825 procedures. According to Cappato, the median overall success rate free of antiarrhythmic drugs was 80%, compared with 75% in the first survey, with an overall complication rate of 4.5%. When subdivided, success rates were 75% in patients with paroxysmal AF, 65% in patients with persistent AF and 62% in patients with permanent AF.
Cappato also conceded that safety and efficacy measures captured during the two study periods may not reflect the safety and efficacy standards of 2009.
“Compared with the first survey, the second survey had a larger portion of centers performing catheter ablation in patients with persistent and permanent AF and associated comorbidities,” he concluded. “There was also a larger reported success rate free of antiarrhythmic drugs, from 52% in the first survey to 70% in the second survey, with similar overall success rates.” – by Eric Raible
For more information:
- Cappato R. Second worldwide survey on efficacy and safety of catheter ablation for AF. Presented at: 14th Annual Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium; January 15-17; Boston.