title: Differences in Quality of Life Between Atrial Fibrillation Patients with Low Stroke Risk Treated With and Without Catheter Ablation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Impacts of a single radiofrequency ablation (RFA) on quality of life (QoL) were not well investigated in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with low stroke risk.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nine hundred AF patients with low CHADS2 score (ie, CHADS2 ≤1) who completed both a baseline and 6-month Atrial Fibrillation Effect on QualiTy-of-life (AFEQT) questionnaire were selected from The Chinese Atrial Fibrillation Registry between 2011 and 2013. A final cohort of 222 patients was constructed after a propensity score matching with 74 in the RFA group and 148 in the non-RFA group. Domains of AFEQT were balanced at baseline between the 2 groups. No statistically significant differences were noted in QoL (all P>0.05) when AFEQT at 6 months was compared between groups, except for the symptoms domain (83.07±12.37 units in the RFA group vs. 77.68±17.14 units in the non-RFA group; P=0.008) and treatment satisfaction domain (76.34±14.92 units in the RFA group vs. 70.38±16.81 units in the non-RFA group; P=0.01). Within-group changes in all domains and the global score of the questionnaire were moderate to large, whereas between-group comparisons in baseline to 6-month changes and QoL at 6 months were small to moderate according to Cohen effect sizes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  QoL was balanced at baseline and improved at 6 months in both groups from this observational propensity-matched cohort based on the AFEQT questionnaire. However, RFA treatment was only associated with small-to-moderate superiorities over non-RFA treatment. The role of RFA in QoL improvement among AF patients with low stroke risk requires further research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (Y.B., R.B., J.H.W., T.Z., N.L., X.H.L., X.D., J.Z.D., C.S.M.).
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (Y.B., R.B., J.H.W., T.Z., N.L., X.H.L., X.D., J.Z.D., C.S.M.).
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (Y.B., R.B., J.H.W., T.Z., N.L., X.H.L., X.D., J.Z.D., C.S.M.).
authors.forename: Jia-Hui
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (Y.B., R.B., J.H.W., T.Z., N.L., X.H.L., X.D., J.Z.D., C.S.M.).
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (Y.B., R.B., J.H.W., T.Z., N.L., X.H.L., X.D., J.Z.D., C.S.M.).
authors.forename: Nian
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China (X.B.S., X.Y.L.).
authors.forename: Xu-Bo
authors.initials: XB
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China (X.B.S., X.Y.L.).
authors.forename: Xin-Yao
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (Y.B., R.B., J.H.W., T.Z., N.L., X.H.L., X.D., J.Z.D., C.S.M.).
authors.forename: Xiao-Hui
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (Y.B., R.B., J.H.W., T.Z., N.L., X.H.L., X.D., J.Z.D., C.S.M.).
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (Y.B., R.B., J.H.W., T.Z., N.L., X.H.L., X.D., J.Z.D., C.S.M.).
authors.forename: Jian-Zeng
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Beijing, China (Y.B., R.B., J.H.W., T.Z., N.L., X.H.L., X.D., J.Z.D., C.S.M.).
authors.forename: Chang-Sheng
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000523:psychology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057216:Propensity Score; D011788:Quality of Life; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: CHADS2 score; atrial fibrillation; atrial fibrillation effect on quality‐of‐life questionnaire; quality of life