Comparison of long-term outcome between patients aged vs. 65 years after atrial fibrillation ablation

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent arrhythmia, and its prevalence is increasing with aging. We aimed to compare the long-term outcome data of patients vs. ? 65 years who underwent catheter ablation (CA) for drug-refractory AF. Methods Consecutive patients with primary pulmonary vein isolation performed between March 2001 and December 2011, and those who completed a five-year of follow-up were divided into two groups: patients aged Results A total number of 390 patients were included, group 1 contained 310 patients, and 80 patients in group 2. In group 2, patients had more often impaired renal function (P P = 0.047). A total of fifteen patients died during the 6.63 ± 2.1 years of follow-up, with a significantly higher incidence in the older group (8/80 vs. 7/310 patients, P = 0.004). The majority of fatal outcome was due to cancerous diseases in both groups. No difference was observed concerning the long-term TE rate (12/310 vs. 4/80 patients, P = 0.75). Rhythm control failed in 25.9% of the patients, with no difference between the groups: 26.4% in group 1 vs. 23.7% in group 2 (P = 0.67). Conclusions Despite growing prevalence of AF in aging population, the elderly patients are underrepresented in CA procedures. Similar clinical success and TE complication rate are observed between the age-groups. Our data suggest more liberal criteria might be applied while selecting patients for AF ablation.