Arrhythmias & electrophysiology
Neurocognitive Function, Cerebral Blood Flow, and Hippocampal Volume After Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation
Authors' conclusion
In this study, AF ablation did not significantly affect neurocognitive function at the 6-month follow-up. Compared with drug therapy, ablation was associated with greater changes in CBF and HV, and patients with CBF improvement, regardless of treatment assignment, showed improved performance in memory and new learning.
Study context
- Population
- Patients undergoing AF catheter ablation, with patients with AF managed by drug therapy as controlsaged 64 ± 11 years, 70% men, 41% with paroxysmal AF
- Participants
- 145 patients
- Comparison
- Ablation vs control
- Ablationn = 94
- Controln = 51
- Outcome
- Changes in neurocognitive function tests scores
- Follow-up
- 3 and 6 months after ablation
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Not significantly different between groups
Further findings
| Outcome | Ablation | Control | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change in CBF (ΔCBF), MRI subgroup · 6 months | +46 (IQR −17 to +111) mL/min | −45 (IQR −70 to +9) mL/min | P = 0.007 |
| Proportional change in HV, MRI subgroup · 6 months | +0.1% (IQR −1.1 to +0.8) | −1.0% (IQR −2.0 to +0.1) | P = 0.043 |
| Memory and new learning score by ΔCBFΔCBF more than +35 mL/min vs ΔCBF less than +35 mL/min · greater improvements with ΔCBF more than +35 mL/min | P = 0.048 |
- Change in cerebral blood flow (CBF) (ΔCBF), MRI subgroup: MRI subgroup n = 51: ablation 42 and control 9
- Memory and new learning score by ΔCBF: ΔCBF more than +35 mL/min +2 (IQR −0.5 to +5)
- Memory and new learning score by ΔCBF: ΔCBF less than +35 mL/min 0 (IQR −3 to +3)
Effect of arrhythmia recurrence and AF type (paroxysmal or persistent)
- Did not significantly affect the outcome
Original publication
Neurocognitive Function, Cerebral Blood Flow, and Hippocampal Volume After Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation. JACC Clin Electrophysiol. Published 13 February 2026. doi:10.
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