title: Impact of baseline atrial fibrillation cycle length on acute and long-term outcome of persistent atrial fibrillation ablation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A short baseline atrial fibrillation (AF) cycle length (CL) has been associated with a worse outcome after catheter ablation for AF, whereas the impact of a long baseline AFCL is unknown. We investigated the influence of AFCL on acute and long-term success in a large series of patients undergoing catheter ablation for persistent AF.
  
  
  METHODS
  Overall, 177 consecutive patients undergoing catheter ablation of persistent AF using a sequential ablation approach were included in the analysis. AFCL was measured in the left atrial appendage (LAA) at baseline and following each ablation step. The primary endpoint was freedom from any atrial arrhythmia off antiarrhythmic drugs (AAD) with a single ablation procedure after 12 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean AFCL was 164 ± 24 ms. A shorter AFCL was associated with longer AF duration, larger LA diameter, and longer procedure duration. Termination to sinus rhythm (SR) was achieved in 57 (32 %) patients. Baseline AFCL was shorter (161 ± 24 ms) in patients without AF termination compared to patients with AF termination (169 ± 23 m, p = 0.03). The primary endpoint was reached less frequently in patients with a short (<155 ms) AFCL (18 vs. 38.5 %, p = 0.006). Patients with an AFCL between 155 and 200 ms had the best outcome compared to patients with AFCL <155 or ≥200 ms (40 vs. 18 %, p = 0.003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with a baseline AFCL between 155 and 200 ms have the best outcome after a single ablation procedure for persistent AF compared to patients with an AFCL of <155 or ≥200 ms.
authors.affiliation: Deutsches Herzzentrum München, Technische Universität München, Lazarettstrasse 36, 80636, Munich, Germany, ammar@dhm.mhn.de.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ammar
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hessling
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paulik
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Reents
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dillier
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buiatti
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Semmler
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kolb
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Haller
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Deisenhofer
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D018780:Body Surface Potential Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016896:Treatment Outcome