Catheter Ablation Helps Reduce Risk of Cardiac Death
Adults with atrial fibrillation who are treated with a catheter ablation—a minimally invasive procedure—have a reduced risk of mortality from heart attack or heart failure, according to a recent study.
“The study findings show the benefit of catheter ablation extends beyond improving quality of life for adults with atrial fibrillation. If successful, ablation improves life span,” said Hamid Ghanbari, MD, MPH, the study’s lead author and an electrophysiologist at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.
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For the study, investigators examined 10 years of medical history for 3,058 adults who underwent a catheter ablation procedure. The majority of participants were men with a mean age of 58 years; most exhibited fluctuating paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
Researchers found a 60% drop in cardiovascular death among patients who underwent catheter ablation.
While the U-M Electrophysiology program has given over 4000 catheter ablation procedures, investigators noted that the study was the first—and by far the longest—to examine clinical outcomes of the procedure.
The complete study is published in the July issue of Heart Rhythm.
-Michelle Canales
References:
Ghanbari H, Baser K, Jongnarangsin K, et al. Mortality and cerebrovascular events after radiofrequency catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. Heart Rhythm. 2014 July [epub ahead of print] doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hrthm.2014.05.003.
University of Michigan Health System. Ablation increases survival for adults with atrial fibrillation. July 29, 2014. www.uofmhealth.org/news/archive/201407/ablation-increases-survival-adults-atrial-fibrillation. Accessed July 31, 2014.