Arrhythmias & electrophysiologyCohort study
Body mass index, acute atrial fibrillation termination, and long-term recurrence after catheter ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation: Insights from a large contemporary cohort
- prospective data from consecutive patients
Authors' conclusion
In patients with PeAF undergoing first-time radiofrequency ablation, higher BMI was associated with lower acute AF termination and increased long-term recurrence. BMI may serve as a practical marker for preprocedural risk stratification.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with clinically documented persistent AF (PeAF) undergoing first-time radiofrequency catheter ablation between January 2018 and March 2025
- Participants
- 7,559 consecutive patients
- Exposure
- Compared with normal-weight patients, patients with overweight and obesity
- Outcome
- Atrial arrhythmia recurrence after a 3-month blanking period
- Follow-up
- Median 41 months
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Each group vs normal-weightHazard ratio (95% CI)
higher BMI (continuous)fully adjusted model
1.03(1.02–1.04)
overweight
1.15(1.06–1.24)
obesity
1.31(1.18–1.45)
- Atrial arrhythmia recurrence, all patients
- 3494 patients (46.2%)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | odds ratio (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Acute AF termination · lower odds with higher BMI | 0.95 (0.93–0.97) | |
| 0.512Odds ratio (log scale) |
- Acute atrial fibrillation (AF) termination — Acute AF termination, all patients
- 832 patients (11.0%)
Acute AF termination
- decreased with increasing body mass index (BMI)
Sensitivity analyses
- Findings were consistent across sensitivity analyses
Original publication
Body mass index, acute atrial fibrillation termination, and long-term recurrence after catheter ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation: Insights from a large contemporary cohort. Heart Rhythm. Published 5 August 2026. doi:10.1016/j.hrthm.2026.08.001
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it