Initial Ablation Characteristics and Interval Between Initial and Repeat Ablation
Among the 336 patients in this study, 213 underwent an initial AF ablation for paroxysmal AF (PAF), and 123 had an initial AF ablation for persistent AF (PsAF) (Table 4). The proportion of patients with PAF and PsAF at the time of index ablation was comparable among the patients undergoing repeat ablation for AF and atypical AFL. The index ablation procedure was performed with RF energy in 190 (81.2%) of 234 of the patients undergoing repeat ablation for AF and 99 (98%) of 102 patients undergoing repeat ablation for atypical atrial flutter (p < 0.01). The remainder of the patients in both groups had an initial AF ablation with the cryoballoon system. For the total cohort, the mean duration between index and repeat ablation was 2.1 ± 2.9 years. There was no difference in the interval between the index and repeat ablation in recurrent AF vs. atypical AFL cohorts (2.2 vs. 1.9 years, p=0.29).