title: Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Ablation in Females: Insight from the MAGIC-AF Trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation is less frequently performed in women when compared to men. There are conflicting data on the safety and efficacy of AF ablation in women. The objective of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics and outcomes in a contemporary cohort of men and women undergoing persistent AF ablation procedures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 182 men and 53 women undergoing a first-ever persistent AF catheter ablation procedure in The Modified Ablation Guided by Ibutilide Use in Chronic Atrial Fibrillation (MAGIC-AF) trial were evaluated. Clinical and procedural characteristics were compared between each gender. The primary efficacy endpoint was the 1-year single procedure freedom from atrial arrhythmia off anti-arrhythmic drugs. Women undergoing catheter ablation procedures were older than men (P < 0.001). The duration of AF and associated co-morbidities were similar between both genders. Single procedure drug-free atrial arrhythmia recurrence occurred in 53% of the cohort with no difference based on gender (men = 54%, women = 53%; P = 1.0). Procedural (P = 0.04), fluoroscopic (P = 0.02), and ablation times (P = 0.003) were shorter in women compared to men. Periprocedural complications and postablation improvement in quality of life were similar between men and women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women undergoing a first-ever persistent AF ablation procedure were older but had similar clinical outcomes and complications when compared with men.
authors.affiliation: Schulich Heart Program, Sunnybrook Health Science Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Sheldon M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Helmsley Cardiac Arrhythmia Service, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.|Instituto de Pesquisa em Arritmia Cardiaca - Hospital Cardiologico, Florianopolis, SC, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Avila
authors.affiliation: Mercy General Hospital and Dignity Health Heart & Vascular Institute, Sacramento, California, USA.
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aryana
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Division, Korea University Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Hoon
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia.
authors.forename: J Michael
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mangrum
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Gregory F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Michaud
authors.affiliation: Helmsley Cardiac Arrhythmia Service, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Srinivas R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Dukkipati
authors.affiliation: Heart Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: E Kevin
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Heist
authors.affiliation: Heart Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Conor D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.affiliation: Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Keenan Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael's Hospital University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Kevin E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Thorpe
authors.affiliation: Helmsley Cardiac Arrhythmia Service, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Vivek Y
authors.initials: VY
authors.lastname: Reddy
keywords: arrhythmia; atrial fibrillation; atrioesophageal fistula; catheter ablation; dofetilide; gender