Results: Total 1346 patients underwent first catheter ablation for AF during this period, including 896 (66.5%) male and 450 (33.4%) female patients. Female patients were older at the time of ablation (66.2y vs 62.4y; p<0.001). Women had higher CHA2DS2-VASc scores (3 vs 2; p<0.001) than men, expectedly, as the female sex warrants an additional point. 25.3% female patients had PersAF at the time of diagnosis vs 35.3% male patients (p<0.001). At the time of ablation, 31.8% female patients had PersAF as compared to 43.1% male patients (p<0.001), indicating progression of PAF to PersAF in both genders. Women tried more AADs than men before ablation (1.13 vs 0.98; p=0.002). Male and female patients had no statistically significant difference in (a) arrhythmia recurrence at 1-y post ablation (27.7% vs 30%; p=0.38) or (b) procedural complication rate (1.8% vs 3.1%; p=0.56).
Conclusion: Female patients were older and had higher CHA2DS2-VASc scores compared to males at the time of AF ablation. Women tried more AADs than men prior to ablation. 1-y arrhythmia recurrence rates and procedural complications were similar in both genders. No sex- based differences were observed in safety and efficacy of ablation.