title: Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with an increased incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF). This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of catheter ablation (CA) in the treatment of AF in patients with RA, which has not been previously reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 15 RA patients with AF who underwent CA were enrolled. For each RA patient, we selected 4 individuals (control group, 60 patients in total) who presented for AF ablation in the absence of structural heart or systemic disease and matched the RA patients with same gender, age (±2 years), type of AF, and procedure date.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with RA had a significantly higher C-reactive protein level (1.81 ± 2.35 mg/dl vs. 4.14 ± 2.30 mg/dl, p=0.0320), white blood cell count (5632 ± 1200 mm(3) vs. 6361 ± 1567 mm(3), p=0.0482), and neutrophil count (3308 ± 973 mm(3) vs. 3949 ± 1461 mm(3), p=0.0441). At 2-year follow-up, atrial tachyarrhythmia (ATa) recurrence rate in the RA group (33.3%, 5/15) was similar to that in the control group (31.7%, 19/60; p=0.579) after single procedure. In all the five patients from the RA group who developed recurrence, ATa relapsed within 90 days following index procedure (median recurrence time 18 days vs. 92 days in control group; p=0.0373). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that hypertension and left atrial diameter but not RA, C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, and neutrophil count were independent predictors of ATa recurrence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Catheter ablation of AF can be safely performed in patients with RA, with a success rate comparable to that of patients without RA. RA patients tend to develop early ATa recurrence after AF ablation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Song-Nan
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Nian
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Song-Nan
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salim
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Yan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jun-Ping
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Man
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jia-Hui
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Fei
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Ruan
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Rong-Hui
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: De-Yong
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Long
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ri-Bo
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Cai-Hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Sang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Chen-Xi
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Zeng
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Hui
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: chshma@vip.sina.com.
authors.forename: Chang-Sheng
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications*; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012008:Recurrence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Atrial fibrillation; Catheter ablation; Inflammation; Recurrence; Rheumatoid arthritis