Late clinical outcome after successful radiofrequency catheter ablation of accessory pathways

• Published in: European heart journal Vol. 22; no. 7; pp. 605 - 609
• Main Authors: Schläpfer, J, Fromer, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Oxford University Press 01.04.2001
• Subjects: accessory pathway; Adult; Arrhythmias, Cardiac - diagnosis; Arrhythmias, Cardiac - etiology; Biological and medical sciences; Cardiac dysrhythmias; Cardiology. Vascular system; Catheter Ablation - adverse effects; Catheter Ablation - methods; Child; Female; follow-up; Follow-Up Studies; Heart; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Patient Satisfaction; Radiofrequency ablation; Recurrence; Treatment Outcome; Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome - physiopathology; Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome - surgery; Human; Prognosis; Treatment; Arrhythmia; Heart disease; Instrumentation therapy; Cardiovascular disease; Accessory bundle; Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia; Radiofrequency; Ablation; Excitability disorder
• ISSN: 0195-668X; 1522-9645
• DOI: 10.1053/euhj.2000.2409

Aims To evaluate the long-term clinical results of patients who underwent successful radiofrequency catheter ablation of a symptomatic drug-resistant accessory-pathway-mediated tachycardia. Methods and Results Clinical follow-up was done by direct contact with the patients and their physicians. One hundred and eighty consecutive patients (113 males, 67 females) were followed during a median period of 48·1 months. There were seven procedure related complications (4%). During the follow-up period, 79% of the patients remained asymptomatic; 14% complained of short bouts of palpitations due to isolated or short runs of atrial or ventricular premature beats; 7% had sustained palpitations due either to accessory pathway recurrence (4%) or supraventricular tachyarrhythmias not associated with an accessory pathway (3%). Symptoms due to accessory pathway recurrence appeared either in the first month following the ablation or at least later than 3 months when sustained supraventricular arrhythmias occurred related to another cause. Conclusions Initially successful radiofrequency catheter ablation has a low, long-term recurrence rate (4%). Recurrence of accessory-pathway-mediated tachycardia is observed during the first month while later symptoms suggest supraventricular arrhythmias from another cause.