title: Prospective assessment of short- and long-term quality of life after ablation for atrial fibrillation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study prospectively assesses different aspects of short- and long-term quality of life (QoL) after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF). An analysis of 7 validated generic and tailored questionnaires was performed with regard to the relation of QoL to ablation success.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 133 patients (74% men, age 57±10) who underwent pulmonary vein isolation ± linear or electrogram-guided substrate modification for AF. QoL was quantitatively assessed at baseline, 3 months after ablation and at a median of 4.3 ± 0.5 years after ablation by the AF severity scale (AFSS), AF symptom checklist (AFSC), WHO-5-Well-Being-Index (WHO), Major Depression Inventory (MDI), Sleep and Vegetative disorder (SV), Vital Exhaustion (VE), and Illness intrusiveness (Ii).
  
  
  RESULTS
  QoL was improved significantly 3 months after ablation in all patients (regardless of ablation success or AF type) and stayed significantly improved after a median of 4.3±0.5 years (AFSS, AFSC, WHO, MDI, VE, PE (all P < 0.001), and SV (P = 0.007)). Patients who had a successful ablation improved significantly more than patients with an unsuccessful ablation in the AFSS, AFSC, and MDI questionnaire (delta change from baseline to long-term follow-up P = <0.001, P = <0.001, and P = 0.039, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, all patients significantly improved their QoL irrespective of the AF type in all questionnaires 3 months and 4 years after ablation. The increase in QoL was significantly greater in patients who underwent a successful ablation than patients with unsuccessful ablation in the AFSS, AFSC, and MDI questionnaire.
authors.affiliation: Deutsches Herzzentrum München & 1. Med. Klinik, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany. fichtner@dhm.mhn.de
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fichtner
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Deisenhofer
authors.forename: Sibylle
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kindsmüller
authors.forename: Marijana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dzijan-Horn
authors.forename: Stylianos
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tzeis
authors.forename: Tilko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Reents
authors.forename: Jinjin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Luise Estner
authors.forename: Clemens
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jilek
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ammar
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kathan
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hessling
authors.forename: Karl-Heinz
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Ladwig
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome