title: Outcomes and complications of catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation in females.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Most atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation studies have consisted predominantly of males; accordingly, there is a paucity of information on the safety and efficacy of catheter ablation in a large cohort of female AF patients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate catheter ablation for AF in female patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  From January 2005 to May 2008, 3265 females underwent pulmonary vein antrum isolation. Success rates, patient profiles, and complications were collected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Approximately 16% of our population was female (P <.001). Females were older (59 +/- 13 vs. 56 +/- 19 years; P <.01) and had a lower prevalence of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF; 46% vs. 55%; P <.001). Females failed more antiarrhythmics (4 +/- 1 vs. 2 +/- 3; P = .04) and were referred later for catheter ablation (6.51 +/- 7 vs. 4.85 +/- 6.5 years; P = .02) than males. More females failed ablation (31.5% vs. 22.5%; P = .001) and had nonantral sites of firing than males (P <.001). Female patients had 11 (2.1%) hematomas versus 27 (0.9%) in males.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Five times as many males underwent catheter ablation than females. Females failed more ablations possibly because of a higher prevalence of nonantral firing, non-PAF, and longer history of AF. Females had more bleeding complications than males.
authors.affiliation: St. David's Medical Center, Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, Austin, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Dimpi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Prasant
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mohanty
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Di Biase
authors.forename: Javier E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: Mazen H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Shaheen
authors.forename: J David
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Burkhardt
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bassouni
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: Rodney P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Horton
authors.forename: Salwa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beheiry
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hongo
authors.forename: G Joseph
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Gallinghouse
authors.forename: Jason D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Zagrodzky
authors.forename: Shane M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.forename: Amin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Ahmad
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Schweikert
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Natale
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011667:Pulmonary Veins / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants