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Open Access 01-12-2024 | Atrial Fibrillation | Research

Predictors of improvement in left ventricular systolic function after catheter ablation in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation complicated with heart failure

Authors: Xinliang Zhao, Xiaoqin Hu, Wei Bao, Shuo Huang, Fei Li, Chen Liu, Liqi Ge, Quan Zhang, Chaoqun Zhang, Chengzong Li

Published in: BMC Cardiovascular Disorders | Issue 1/2024

Abstract

Aims

The current management of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and concomitant heart failure (HF) remains a significant challenge. Catheter ablation (CA) has been shown to improve left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in these patients, but which patients can benefit from CA is still poorly understood. The aim of our study was to determine the predictors of improved ejection fraction in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (PeAF) complicated with HF undergoing CA.

Methods and results

A total of 435 patients with persistent AF underwent an initial CA between January 2019 and March 2023 in our hospital. We investigated consecutive patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVEF < 50%) measured by transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) within one month before CA. According to the LVEF changes at 6 months, these patients were divided into an improved group (fulfilling the ‘2021 Universal Definition of HF’ criteria for LVEF recovery) and a nonimproved group. Eighty patients were analyzed, and the improvement group consisted of 60 patients (75.0%). In the univariate analysis, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (P = 0.005) and low voltage zones in the left atrium (P = 0.043) were associated with improvement of LVEF. A receiver operating characteristic analysis determined that the suitable cutoff value for left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVDd) was 59 mm (sensitivity: 85.0%, specificity: 55.0%, area under curve: 0.709). A multivariate analysis showed that LVDd (OR = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.76–0.95, P = 0.005) and low voltage zones (LVZs) (OR = 0.26; 95% CI: 0.07–0.96, P = 0.043) were significantly independently associated with the improvement of LVEF. Additionally, parameters were significantly improved regarding the left atrial diameter, LVDd and ventricular rate after radiofrequency catheter ablation (all p < 0.05).

Conclusions

The improvement of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) occurred in 75.0% of patients. Our study provides additional evidence that LVDd < 59 mm and no low voltage zones in the left atrium can be used to jointly predict the improvement of LVEF after atrial fibrillation ablation.

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Title: Predictors of improvement in left ventricular systolic function after catheter ablation in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation complicated with heart failure
Authors: Xinliang Zhao
Xiaoqin Hu
Wei Bao
Shuo Huang
Fei Li
Chen Liu
Liqi Ge
Quan Zhang
Chaoqun Zhang
Chengzong Li
Publication date: 01-12-2024
Publisher: BioMed Central
Keywords: Atrial Fibrillation
Heart Failure
Transthoracic Echocardiography
Published in: BMC Cardiovascular Disorders / Issue 1/2024
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2261
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12872-024-03840-z

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