Search

Aims Atrial fibrillation (AF) recurs in about one-third of patients after catheter ablation (CA), mostly in the first year. Little is known about the electrophysiological findings and the effect of re-ablation in very late AF recurrences (VLR) after more than 1 year. The aim of this study was to determine the characteristics and outcomes of the first repeat CA after VLR of AF after index CA. Methods and results We analysed patients from a prospective Swiss registry that underwent a first repeat ablation procedure. Patients were stratified depending on the time to recurrence after index procedure: early recurrence (ER) for recurrences within the first year and late recurrence (LR) if the recurrence was later. The primary endpoint was freedom from AF in the first year after repeat ablation. Out of 1864 patients included in the registry, 426 patients undergoing a repeat ablation were included in the analysis (28% female, age 63 ± 9.8 years, 46% persistent AF). Two hundred and ninety-one patients (68%) were stratified in the ER group and 135 patients (32%) in the LR group. Pulmonary vein reconnections were a common finding in both groups, with 93% in the ER group compared to 86% in the LR group (P = 0.052). In the LR group, 40 of 135 patients (30%) had a recurrence of AF compared to 90 of 291 patients (31%) in the ER group (log-rank P = 0.72). Conclusion There was no association between the time to recurrence of AF after initial CA and the characteristics and outcomes of the repeat procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Atrial remodelling, defined as a change in atrial structure, promotes atrial fibrillation (AF). Bone morphogenetic protein 10 (BMP10) is an atrial-specific biomarker released to blood during atrial development and structural changes. We aimed to validate whether BMP10 is associated with AF recurrence after catheter ablation (CA) in a large cohort of patients. Methods and results We measured baseline BMP10 plasma concentrations in AF patients who underwent a first elective CA in the prospective Swiss-AF-PVI cohort study. The primary outcome was AF recurrence lasting longer than 30 s during a follow-up of 12 months. We constructed multivariable Cox proportional hazard models to determine the association of BMP10 and AF recurrence. A total of 1112 patients with AF (age 61 ± 10 years, 74% male, 60% paroxysmal AF) was included in our analysis. During 12 months of follow-up, 374 patients (34%) experienced AF recurrence. The probability for AF recurrence increased with increasing BMP10 concentration. In an unadjusted Cox proportional hazard model, a per-unit increase in log-transformed BMP10 was associated with a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.28 (95% CI 1.43; 3.62, P < 0.001) for AF recurrence. After multivariable adjustment, the HR of BMP10 for AF recurrence was 1.98 (95% CI 1.14; 3.42, P = 0.01), and there was a linear trend across BMP10 quartiles (P = 0.02 for linear trend). Conclusion The novel atrial-specific biomarker BMP10 was strongly associated with AF recurrence in patients undergoing CA for AF. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03718364; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03718364 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims To determine the risk of subsequent adverse clinical outcomes in anticoagulated patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who experienced a new bleeding event. Methods and results Anticoagulated AF patients were followed in two prospective cohort studies. Information on incident bleeding was systematically collected during yearly follow-up visits and events were adjudicated as major bleeding or clinically relevant non-major bleeding (CRNMB) according to the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis guidelines. The primary outcome was a composite of stroke, myocardial infarction (MI), or all-cause death. Time-updated multivariable Cox proportional-hazards models were used to compare outcomes in patients with and without incident bleeding. Median follow-up was 4.08 years [interquartile range (IQR): 2.93–5.98]. Of the 3277 patients included (mean age 72 years, 28.5% women), 646 (19.7%) developed a new bleeding, 297 (9.1%) a major bleeding and 418 (12.8%) a CRNMB. The incidence of the primary outcome was 7.08 and 4.04 per 100 patient-years in patients with and without any bleeding [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR): 1.36, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.16–1.61; P < 0.001; median time between a new bleeding and a primary outcome 306 days (IQR: 23–832)]. Recurrent bleeding occurred in 126 patients [incidence, 8.65 per 100 patient-years (95% CI: 7.26–10.30)]. In patients with and without a major bleeding, the incidence of the primary outcome was 11.00 and 4.06 per 100 patient-years [aHR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.69–2.46; P < 0.001; median time to a primary outcome 142 days (IQR: 9–518)], and 59 had recurrent bleeding [11.61 per 100 patient-years (95% CI: 8.99–14.98)]. The incidence of the primary outcome was 5.29 and 4.55 in patients with and without CRNMB [aHR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.76–1.15; P = 0.53; median time to a composite outcome 505 days (IQR: 153–1079)], and 87 had recurrent bleeding [8.43 per 100 patient-years (95% CI: 6.83–10.40)]. Patients who had their oral anticoagulation (OAC) discontinued after their first bleeding episode had a higher incidence of the primary composite than those who continued OAC (63/89 vs. 159/557 patients; aHR: 4.46, 95% CI: 3.16–6.31; P < 0.001). Conclusion In anticoagulated AF patients, major bleeding but not CRNMB was associated with a high risk of adverse outcomes, part of which may be explained by OAC discontinuation. Most events occurred late after the bleeding episode, emphasizing the importance of long-term follow-up in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]