Objectives: To address whether menopause affects outcome of catheter ablation (CA) for atrial fibrillation (AF) by comparing the safety and long-term outcome of a single-procedure in pre- and post-menopausal women.
Methods: A total of 743 female patients who underwent a single CA procedure of drug-refractory AF were retrospectively analyzed. The differences in clinical presentation and outcomes of CA for AF between the pre-menopausal women (PreM group, 94 patients, 12.7%) and the post-menopausal women (PostM group, 649 patients, 87.3%) were assessed.
Results: The patients in the PreM group were younger (P < 0.001) and less likely to have hypertension (P < 0.001) and diabetes (P = 0.005) than those in the PostM group. The two groups were similar with regards to the proportion of concomitant mitral valve regurgitation coronary artery disease, left atrium dimensions, and left ventricular ejection fraction. The overall rate of complications related to AF ablation was similar in both groups (P = 0.385). After 43 (16-108) months of follow-up, the success rate of ablation was 54.3% in the PreM group and 54.2% in the PostM group (P = 0.842). The overall freedom from atrial tachyarrhythmia recurrence was similar in both groups. Menopause was not found to be an independent predictive factor of the recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmia.
Conclusions: The long-term outcomes of single-procedure CA for AF are similar in pre- and post-menopausal women. Results indicated that CA of AF appears to be as safe and effective in pre-menopausal women as in post-menopausal women.
Keywords: Atrial fibrillation; Catheter ablation; Follow-up; Menopausal woman.