Impact of Baseline Impedance of Pulmonary Vein Antrum on Success of Catheter Ablation for Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation Guided by Ablation Index

Overview

Journal BMC Cardiovasc Disord

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Cardiology & Vascular Diseases

Date 2022 Apr 20

PMID 35439961

Authors

Yuanjun Sun

Xianjie Xiao

Xiaomeng Yin

Lianjun Gao

Xiaohong Yu

Rongfeng Zhang

Zhongzhen Wang

Shiyu Dai

Yanzong Yang

Yunlong Xia

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: Ablation index (AI) is an effective ablation quality marker. Impedance is also an important factor for lesion formation. The present study evaluated the influence of the baseline impedance in the effect of ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) guided by AI.

Methods: This was a retrospective study. 101 patients with paroxysmal AF (PAF) were enrolled. All patients underwent radiofrequency ablation guided by the same AI strategy. The ablation strategy was pulmonary vein (PV) isolation with non-PV triggers ablation. The baseline impedance of the ablation points was recorded. The patients were followed up every 3 months or so.

Results: During a median follow-up of 12 (4-14) months, freedom from AF/atrial tachycardia recurrence were 82.2%. No difference existed in baseline characteristics between the success group and the recurrence group. The average baseline impedance was 124.3 ± 9.7 Ω. The baseline impedance of the ablation points in success group was lower compared to the recurrence group (122.9 ± 9.4 vs. 130.5 ± 8.8 Ω, P < 0.01). The ratio of impedance drop in the success group was higher than the recurrence group ([8.8 ± 1.4]% vs. [8.1 ± 1.2]%, P = 0.03). Multivariate analysis revealed that baseline impedance, PAF duration and AI were the independent predictors of AF recurrence. The cumulative free of recurrence rate of low-impedance group (≤ 124 Ω, n = 54) was higher than that of high-impedance group.

Conclusion: Baseline impedance correlates with clinical outcome of radiofrequency ablation for PAF guided by AI. Higher impedance in the same AI strategy may result in an ineffective lesion which probably causes recurrence.

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