Exploring P-Wave Duration in arrhythmia recurrence in patients undergoing AF Ablation
Exploring P-Wave Duration in arrhythmia recurrence in patients undergoing AF Ablation
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an abnormal rhythm that causes the heart to beat irregularly and can be treated with cryoballoon ablation if previous medical therapy is ineffective or intolerable. The success rate 12 months post procedure is around 75% for patients with intermittent AF and around 60% for patients with persistent AF. Some patients undergo multiple ablations in pursuit of a cure.
Based on some early evidence that P wave duration (PWD) could be used as a potential predictor of AF recurrence Dr Guy Haywood, Consultant Cardiologist and Dr Nikolaos
Spinthakis have developed a study to investigate whether PWD on a standard 12-lead ECG, while the heart is beating regularly, can predict which patients will have recurrence of AF post cryoablation and which will not. This could result in getting the therapy to those with a good chance of success and avoiding putting patients with little chance through multiple procedures.
120 hospital records of patients with persistent, long standing persistent, and paroxysmal AF who underwent cryoablation between January 2016 and December 2020 at UHPNT will be retrieved to obtain the most recent ECG prior to cryoablation, and retrospective data on baseline characteristics. All data will be anonymised prior to the study team’s analysis and results are expected within the next 12 months.
