Arrhythmias & electrophysiologyCohort study
Burden-based outcomes after atrial fibrillation ablation: A 4-year continuous monitoring study
- single-center prospective cohort
Authors' conclusion
CA produces a durable, substantial reduction in ATaB over 4 years, with a sustained QoL benefit. These findings challenge binary definitions of ablation success and support burden-based, patient-centered end points. Exploratory BBS simulations suggest potential for intermittent monitoring but require prospective validation.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing first-time catheter ablation (CA) after preablation ILR insertion
- Participants
- 165 patients
- Exposure
- Atrial tachyarrhythmia burden (ATaB) before vs up to 4 years after CA
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Median ATaB · median follow-up 40.9 (38.3-42.8) months
Median ATaB before CA
15% (0%-100%)
Median ATaB after CA
0% (0%-22.5%)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
ATaB in the recurrence subgroup (n = 76, 46%)
- ATaB before CA, recurrence subgroup
- 93%
- ATaB after CA, recurrence subgroup
- 0.45% (0.09%-8.2)
- Patients of the recurrence subgroup achieving ≥75% reduction
- >90%
- P < .001
Quality of life (QoL) · 1 year
- QoL improved significantly at 1 year and remained stable; Short Form-36 Health Survey physical health scores were not consistently significant beyond 1 year
BBS performance (exploratory)
- BBS performance improved with increased sampling frequency
- exploratory
Original publication
Burden-based outcomes after atrial fibrillation ablation: A 4-year continuous monitoring study. Heart Rhythm. Published 21 January 2026. doi:10.1016/j.hrthm.2026.01.017
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it