Arrhythmias & electrophysiology
Ultrasound-Based Renal Sympathetic Denervation as Adjunctive Upstream Therapy During Atrial Fibrillation Ablation: The ULTRA-HFIB Pilot
Corrected 23 Oct 2026: Measure wording clarified; no values changed.
Authors' conclusion
In this AF ablation cohort, adjunctive RDN was safe and reduced AF and AFL recurrence by 35%, an effect not reaching statistical significance in this pilot trial.
Study context
- Population
- Patients undergoing first-ever paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation with history of hypertension on ≥1 antihypertensive medication100 after 7 screen failures
- Participants
- 107 patients
- Comparison
- Adjunctive ultrasound renal denervation (RDN) vs sham during AF ablation
- Primary endpoint
- Freedom from AF or atrial flutter (≥30 s) off antiarrhythmic medications after 90-day blanking
- Follow-up
- 12 months
Methodological detailsinvestigator-initiated, sham-controlled, single-blind, multicentre (9 centres), pilot trial
- Investigator-initiated
- Sham-controlled
- Single-blind
- Multicentre (9 centres)
- Pilot trial
Primary result
Freedom from AF or AFL (Kaplan-Meier) · 1 year
HR for recurrent AF or AFL
0.65
95% CI 0.32–1.31
P = 0.23
By group
RDN vs Sham
HR for recurrent AF or AFL 0.65 (95% CI 0.32–1.31); P = 0.23
As reported in the abstract
Safety
- RDN-related adverse events
- 0 · events
Original publication
Ultrasound-Based Renal Sympathetic Denervation as Adjunctive Upstream Therapy During Atrial Fibrillation Ablation: The ULTRA-HFIB Pilot. JACC Clin Electrophysiol. Published 31 October 2025. doi:10.
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it