Efficacy and safety of the second‐generation cryoballoon ablation for the treatment of persistent atrial fibrillation in elderly patients

Abstract

Abstract Background It is expected that ablation procedures will be increasingly offered to a more aged population affected with persistent AF (persAF); however, the clinical outcomes of ablation in this specific population are not well described. We aimed to analyze the efficacy and safety of CB‐A in this group of patients compared with a younger cohort. Methods and results Eighty‐three patients with (persAF) aged ≥75 years (group 1; mean age 78.2 ± 3.1 years) and 166 patients also affected with persAF aged 30 seconds) atrial arrhythmias without anti‐arrhythmic medication after a blanking period of 3 months. At 2 years, clinical success was achieved in 108 out of 249 patients (43.4%). Median follow‐up was 24 months (IQR: 18.4‐25.5 months). Older patients suffered from more recurrences than those in the younger cohort ((53/83 patients, 63.9% vs 88/166 patients, 53.0%; P = .03). Thirty (12.0%) patients suffered a complication, but the incidence of complications was not different between both groups. The most frequent complication was transient phrenic nerve injury. Conclusions The global 2 years efficacy of CB‐A PVI in persAF is 43.4%. A lower success rate is achieved in the older patients (36.1%) compared to the younger age group (47.0%). However, the complication rate was not different between age groups.