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Competing Interests: Disclosures The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Background: Absence of real-time pulmonary vein (PV) isolation (PVI) occurring in 15-40% of PVs during cryoballoon ablation (CBA) of atrial fibrillation (AF) raises doubt about adequate PVI. Aim of the present study is to determine whether real-time PVI during CBA is predictive of long-term clinical outcome and durability of PVI., Methods: Eight hundred three AF patients (64 ± 10 years, 68% males) undergoing CBA were studied. The cohort was divided in 4 groups according to the number of PVs without real-time PVI: none (N = 252 [31.4%]), 1 (N = 255 [31.8%]), 2 (N = 159 [19.8%]), and 3-4 (N = 137 [17.1])., Results: At 3 years, 279 (34.7%) patients had recurrence of AF of which 188 underwent repeat ablation. A vein without real-time PVI was associated with AF recurrence (HR = 1.275; 95% CI 1.134-1.433; p < 0.01), independent of persistent AF type (HR = 2.075; 95% CI 1.584-2.738; p < 0.01), left atrial diameter (HR = 1.050; 95% CI 1.028-1.072; p < 0.01), and diagnosis-to-ablation time (HR = 1.002; 95% CI 1.000-1.005; p = 0.04). Highest success was achieved with present real-time PVI in all veins (77.4%), gradually decreasing per increasing number of absent real-time PVI: 66.3% for 1 vein, 58.5% for 2, and 48.9% for 3-4 veins (p < 0.001). At repeat ablation (N = 188), PV reconnection was seen in 99/430 (23.0%) versus 83/288 (28.8%) veins with and without real-time PVI, respectively (p = 0.08). Right inferior PVs (RIPVs) with real-time PVI were less reconnected than RIPVs without real-time PVI: 29.7% versus 43.7% (p = 0.047)., Conclusion: The absence of real-time PVI during CBA independently predicts AF recurrence with a 30% gradual decrease in outcome per increase in veins without real-time PVI. Real-time PVI is particularly important for the RIPV to achieve durable PVI., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Aims: The added value of advanced practitioner nurse (APN) care after ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) is unknown. The present study investigates the impact of APN-led care on AF recurrence, patient knowledge, lifestyle, and patient satisfaction., Methods and Results: Sixty-five patients undergoing AF ablation were prospectively randomized to usual care (N = 33) or intervention (N = 32) group. In addition to usual care, the intervention consisted of an educational session, three consultations spread over 6 months and telephone accessibility coordinated by the APN. Primary outcome was the AF recurrence rate at 6-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes were lifestyle factors (alcohol intake, exercise, BMI, smoking), patient satisfaction and AF knowledge measured at 1 and 6 months between groups and within each group. Study demographics at 1 month were similar, except AF knowledge was higher in the intervention group (8.6 vs. 7, P = 0.001). At 6 months, AF recurrence was significantly lower in the intervention group (13.5 vs. 39.4%, P = 0.014). Between groups, patient satisfaction and AF knowledge were significantly higher in the intervention group, respectively, 9.4 vs. 8.7 (P < 0.001) and 8.6 vs. 7.0 out of 10 (P < 0.001). Within the intervention group, alcohol intake decreased from 3.9 to 2.6 units per week (P = 0.031) and physical activity increased from 224.4 ± 210.7 to 283.8 ± 169.3 (P = 0.048). No changes occurred within the usual care group. Assignment to the intervention group was the only protective factor for AF recurrence [Exp(B) 0.299, P = 0.04] in multivariable-adjusted analysis., Conclusion: Adding APN-led care after ablation of AF improves short-term clinical outcome, patient satisfaction and physical activity and decreases alcohol intake., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: None declared., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Gender-related differences have been reported in patients who underwent pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). Atrial substrate plays a role in the outcomes after ablation but gender-related differences in atrial substrate have never been described in detail. We sought to analyze gender-related differences in atrial remodeling (spontaneous low-voltage zones [LVZs]) and their clinical relevance after PVI. We conducted a prospective multicenter study, including consecutive patients who underwent first PVI-only atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. LVZs were analyzed on high-density electroanatomical maps collected with multipolar catheter, before PVI. In total, 262 patients (61 ± 11 years, 31% female, 50% persistent AF) were followed for 28 months. In women, LVZs were larger (10% vs 4% of left atrial surface [p <0.001]) and female gender was independently associated with fourfold higher risk of having advanced (LVZ > 15%) atrial remodeling (odds ratio 4.56, p <0.001). AF recurrence-free survival was not different between men and women (log-rank p = 0.2). Although LVZs were independently associated higher AF recurrences at multivariate analysis (hazard ratio [HR] 1.2, p = 0.038), female gender was not (HR 1.4, p = 0.211). Specifically, the LVZ cutoff to predict outcomes was different in men and women: >5% in men (HR 3.0, p <0.001), >15% in women (HR 2.7, p = 0.02). In conclusion, women have more widespread LVZ in all left atrial regions. Despite more extensive atrial remodeling, the AF recurrence rate is similar in men and women, and LVZs become prognostic in women only at high burden (>15%). LVZs seem to have a different prognostic role in men and women., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Validation of pulmonary vein (PV) isolation (PVI) using only the Achieve catheter following cryoballoon ablation (CBA) is imperfect since pulmonary vein potentials (PVP) can be recorded in only 50-85% of the veins and residual PVP are found in up to 4.3-7.6% of the isolated veins in remapping studies., Objective: To study if addition of electroanatomical mapping to Achieve catheter-guided CBA is superior for PVI., Methods: One hundred patients were randomized between Achieve catheter-guided CBA (control group; N = 50) and Achieve catheter-guided CBA with additional EnSite voltage maps performed pre- and post-CBA (Achieve Plus group; N = 50). Confirmation of PVI was done by circular mapping catheter (CMC) and EnSite mapping by a second blinded operator., Results: Despite apparent PVI in all PVs after CBA, incomplete PVI was present in 0 out of 50 patients (0%) and 0 out of 204 PVs in the Achieve Plus group versus 6 patients out of 50 (12%; P = 0.012) and 6 out of 203 PVs (3%; P = 0.013) in the control group. All 6 non-isolated PVs could be successfully isolated by additional cryoapplications. Procedure time was longer in the Achieve Plus group (75.76 ± 21.65 vs 66.06 ± 16.83 min; P = 0.014) with equal fluoroscopy times (14.85 ± 6.41 vs 14.33 ± 8.55; P = 0.732)., Conclusion: The addition of electroanatomical EnSite mapping to the Achieve catheter improves the PVI rate of CBA and could be considered for future use. Design and Results of the Achieve Plus study. The Achieve Plus study shows that the addition of electro-anatomical EnSite mapping to the Achieve catheter improves PVI rate of CBA and could be considered for future use. See text for further explanation., Abbreviations: CBA: cryoballoon ablation; PVI: pulmonary vein isolation., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Background Left atrial substrate may have mechanistic relevance for ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF). We sought to analyze the relationship between low-voltage zones (LVZs), transition zones, and AF recurrence in patients undergoing pulmonary vein isolation. Methods and Results We conducted a prospective multicenter study on consecutive patients undergoing pulmonary vein isolation-only approach. LVZs and transition zones (0.5-1 mV) were analyzed offline on high-density electroanatomical maps collected before pulmonary vein isolation. Overall, 262 patients (61±11 years, 31% female) with paroxysmal (130 pts) or persistent (132 pts) AF were included. After 28 months of follow-up, 73 (28%) patients experienced recurrence. An extension of more than 5% LVZ in paroxysmal AF and more than 15% in persistent AF was associated with recurrence (hazard ratio [HR], 4.4 [95% CI, 2.0-9.8], P <0.001 and HR, 1.9 [95% CI, 1.1-3.7], P =0.04, respectively). Significant association was found between LVZs and transition zones and between LVZs and left atrial volume index (LAVI) (both P <0.001). Thirty percent of patients had significantly increased LAVI without LVZs. Eight percent of patients had LVZs despite normal LAVI. Older age, female sex, oncological history, and increased AF recurrence characterized the latter subgroup. Conclusions In patients undergoing first pulmonary vein isolation, the impact of LVZs on outcomes occurs with lower burden in paroxysmal than persistent AF, suggesting that not all LVZs have equal prognostic implications. A proportional area of moderately decreased voltages accompanies LVZs, suggesting a continuous substrate instead of the dichotomous division of healthy or diseased tissue. LAVI generally correlates with LVZs, but a small subgroup of patients may present with disproportionate atrial remodeling, despite normal LAVI.

Background: in patients with heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF), AF ablation improves left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), along with prognosis, in a variable percentage of patients. We aimed to investigate the predictors of LVEF recovery after AF ablation and to develop a prediction model for individualized assessment., Methods: we conducted an observational, retrospective, single-centre study on 111 consecutive patients with AF and HF with impaired LVEF (<50%) undergoing ablation. Patients were divided into Responder vs. Non-Responder according to the "Universal definition of HF". Clinical predictors were evaluated by multivariate logistic regression analysis and cross-validation technique. Independent predictors were used to build an internally validated prediction model., Results: Responders (54%) had significantly shorter QRS duration and less dilated left atrium. Persistent AF and absence of a known etiology were more frequent among Responders. AF recurrence was similar between the two groups (p = 0.2), but the percentage of patient with persistent AF after ablation was significantly lower among Responders (p < 0.001). Absence of known etiology, presence of persistent AF, left atrial volume index<50 mL/m 2 , and QRS < 120 msec were independent predictors of LVEF recovery and composed the Score (AUC 0.93;95%CI 0.88-0.98-p < 0.001). Patients with Score ≤ 1 had 90% likelihood of LVEF recovery, compared to 5% in patients with 3-6., Conclusions: Patients with wide QRS, known HF etiology, dilated left atrium, and paroxysmal AF were less likely to recover LVEF after AF ablation. A new score system based on the above-mentioned parameters adequately predicts LVEF recovery after AF ablation. These results warrant confirmation and prospective validation., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Different methods are used for atrial fibrillation (AF) cycle length (CL) measurement with variable results. Previous studies of pulmonary vein (PV) CL measurement showed contradictory results on predicting PV isolation (PVI) efficacy. A novel simple method of measuring the average of 10 consecutive Fastest Atrial Repetitive Similar morphology signal (FARS 10 )-CL to characterize local atrial activity rate was evaluated prospectively., Methods: The intra-observer reproducibility of FARS 10 -CL and traditional AF-CL measurement of continuously fragmented coronary sinus (CS) signals were tested. We prospectively enrolled 100 consecutive patients (62 ± 10 years, 72% male) undergoing wide antral PVI only ablation for persistent AF, measured PV-FARS 10 -CLs, and evaluated long-term outcome., Results: The Kendall area correlation between repeated traditional AF-CL measurements was -0.006 and between repeated FARS 10 -CL measurements in the right and left atrial appendages, CS and PVs were 0.944, 0.859, 0.882, 0.675-0.955, respectively. Patients with recurrent atrial tachyarrhythmia had significantly longer fastest PV-FARS 10 -CL (172 ± 41 vs. 156 ± 41 ms, p = .047). Patients with high burden of spontaneous low-voltage zone (LVZ) had significantly longer fastest PV-FARS 10 -CL. Freedom from recurrent tachyarrhythmia at 24 months was 85% versus 59% in patients with fastest PV-FARS 10 -CL ≤ 140 versus >140 ms, p = .0018, respectively. In multivariable analysis fastest PV-FARS 10 -CL ≤ 140 ms was the only significant predictor of freedom from recurrent tachyarrhythmia., Conclusions: FARS 10 -CL measurements have a high reproducibility in contrast to traditional AF-CL measurement of continuously fragmented CS signals. Patients with high burden of LVZ have longer fastest PV-FARS 10 -CLs. Fastest PV-FARS 10 -CL ≤ 140 ms is associated with a high success of wide antral PVI-only ablation approach in persistent AF., (© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Etiologic factors and long-term outcomes of catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) in young patients have not been well characterized. This study aimed to analyze the etiologic factors and outcomes of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in patients with young-onset AF (young-AF, defined as having first documented episode <45 years). Consecutive patients with young-AF undergoing PVI (n = 197) in 2 academic centers were enrolled and followed for 36.1 ± 24.5 months. A control group of patients with AF onset ≥45 years (n = 554) was included. The most frequent risk factors in young-AF were intensive exercise (25%), moderate-to-heavy alcohol consumption (23%), and familial AF (22%). Compared with patients with AF onset ≥45-year, patients with young-AF were more often men (82% vs 66%, p <0.001), had more frequently paroxysmal AF (81% vs 60%, p <0.001), had less left atrial dilatation (40.9 ± 6.2 mm vs 44.2 ± 7.2 mm, p <0.001), and had lower 4-year recurrence rate after last PVI procedure (22% vs 45%, p <0.001). In young-AF, structural heart disease (SHD) was the only independent predictor of recurrence. Patients with young-AF selected to undergo cryoballoon (CB) ablation were younger (35.0 ± 7.7 vs 36.6 ± 6.7 years, p = 0.035) and had less persistent AF (6% vs 24%, p = 0.004) and coronary artery disease (2% vs 7%, p = 0.02) compared with radiofrequency ablation. After excluding patients with persistent AF and SHD, there was no difference in single procedural success between radiofrequency or CB PVI (27% vs 17%, p = 0.11). In conclusion, patients with young-AF have diverse etiologies and high single and multiprocedural PVI successes. SHD is the only independent predictor of recurrence. In patients with young-AF, there is a selection bias for CB ablation., Competing Interests: Disclosures The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)