1. Headache during cryoballoon ablation for atrial fibrillation
- Author
-
Harry J.G.M. Crijns, Carl Timmermans, Suzanne Philippens, Yuri Blaauw, Laurent Pison, Kevin Vernooy, Johan W.S. Vlaeyen, Jean Schoenen, Pim Peeters, Narendra Kumar, RS: CARIM - R2 - Cardiac function and failure, Cardiologie, MUMC+: MA Med Staf Spec Cardiologie (9), Section Experimental Health Psychology, RS: CARIM - R2.08 - Electro mechanics, RS: CARIM - R2.12 - Surgical intervention, Promovendi CD, MUMC+: MA Alg Ond Onderz Cardiologie (9), MUMC+: MA Cardiologie (9), RS: CARIM - R2.01 - Clinical atrial fibrillation, and RS: FPN CPS I
- Subjects
Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Sedation ,medicine.medical_treatment ,Balloon ,Cryosurgery ,Pulmonary vein ,Cohort Studies ,Postoperative Complications ,Physiology (medical) ,Internal medicine ,Atrial Fibrillation ,medicine ,Humans ,Prospective Studies ,Intraoperative Complications ,Prospective cohort study ,Aged ,Pain Measurement ,business.industry ,Headache ,Atrial fibrillation ,Cryoablation ,Middle Aged ,Ablation ,medicine.disease ,Pulmonary Veins ,McGill Pain Questionnaire ,Anesthesia ,Cardiology ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine ,business - Abstract
AIMS: Headache has been reported to occur during cryoballoon ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF). No study has systematically analysed this phenomenon.METHODS AND RESULTS: Twenty consecutive patients with symptomatic AF underwent cryoballoon ablation without sedation. Headache was evaluated before, during, and after the first cryoapplication in every pulmonary vein (PV) using a visual representation of a head for location of the headache, a numerical rating scale (NRS) for measuring pain intensity and the short-form McGill pain questionnaire (MPQ) for qualitative analysis of pain. The order in which the PVs were ablated was randomized. Sixteen (80%) patients perceived mainly frontal headache during cryoablation. The overall NRS scores were significantly higher during (5.1 ± 1.7), compared with before (2.7 ± 1.4), and after (3.5 ± 2.2) a cryoapplication (P < 0.05). The NRS score was significantly higher during ablation of the first PV. The intensity of the perceived headache was not related to the temperature reached 150 s after initiation of a cryoapplication (P = 0.81). Of the MPQ, three sensory adjectives and one affective adjective averaged between scores 1 and 2, representing mild-to-moderate severity of pain.CONCLUSION: The majority of patients treated by balloon cryoablation experienced headache during a cryoapplication. There was no correlation between the temperature reached during a cryoballoon freeze and the intensity of the headache. Cryoballoon ablation of the first PV was significantly more painful than the remaining PVs.
- Published
- 2015