Arrhythmias & electrophysiology
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Catheter Ablation Utilization for Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors' conclusion
While evidence confirms racial and ethnic disparities in CA utilization for atrial fibrillation, significant heterogeneity exists across studies. Standardized disparity definitions and consistent covariate adjustment may help confirm the scale of disparities and identify underlying mechanisms to inform interventions.
Study context
- Population
- U.S.-based studies of catheter ablation utilization for atrial fibrillation by race/ethnicitystudies included
- Participants
- 18 studies
- Comparison
- non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic/LatinX, and Asian patients compared to non-Hispanic White patients
- Outcome
- Receipt of catheter ablation (CA)
Methodological detailsrandom effects models, U.S.-based studies
- Random effects models
- U.S.-based studies
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Each group vs non-Hispanic WhiteOdds ratio (95% CI)
non-Hispanic Black
0.65(0.58–0.74)
Hispanic/LatinX
0.78(0.73–0.83)
Asian
0.74(0.54–1.0)
Further pooled results
Study methods
- None explicitly defined disparity or the source of race/ethnicity data
- Most common approach estimated disparity as residual direct effect of race/ethnicity after adjusting for confounders, but key confounders were missing
- Only one study evaluated mediators of disparity through sensitivity analysis
Original publication
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Catheter Ablation Utilization for Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JACC Adv. Published 25 August 2025. doi:10.
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