Comparison of atrial arrhythmia recurrence after persistent atrial fibrillation ablation between patients with or without tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND The presence of heart failure (HF) has been associated with poorer outcomes in patients undergoing catheter ablation (CA) for atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the effectiveness of CA amongst the subset of patients with tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy (TIC) remains poorly defined. METHODS AND RESULTS In a retrospective analysis we compared outcomes of first-time CA for persistent AF in a cohort of patients with previously diagnosed TIC (n = 45; age 58 ± 8 years; 91% male) to those with structurally normal hearts (non-TIC; n = 440; age 55 ± 9 years; 95% male). TIC was defined as an impaired ventricular function (left ventricular ejection function [LVEF]