Introduction and objectives:

The objective of this study is to compare the clinical characteristics and outcomes of contemporary cohorts of patients undergoing catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF), stratified by age (< 70 years and ≥ 70 years).

Methods:

This retrospective cohort study included patients who underwent catheter ablation for refractory AF. The minimum follow-up duration per patient was 12 months.

Results:

A total of 239 patients were included in the study, with 171 (71.5%) in the < 70 years group and 68 (28.5%) in the ≥ 70 years group. The mean age of the study population was 62.4 years (SD 10.87). The < 70 years group had a mean age of 58.03 years (SD 9.71), while the ≥ 70 years group had a mean age of 73.4 years (SD 3.05). Furthermore, a higher proportion of paroxysmal AF was observed in patients < 70 years, whereas a higher proportion of persistent AF was found in patients ≥ 70 years. These differences were statistically significant. The recurrence rates after the initial ablation procedure were similar between the two groups (21.43% in the < 70 years group vs. 23.53% in the ≥ 70 years group, p = 0.79). Additionally, there were no significant differences in terms of complications. The < 70 years group experienced 18 complications, while the ≥ 70 years group had 5 complications (p = 0.472).

Conclusion:

The findings of this study suggest that patients aged 70 years and older who undergo their first catheter ablation procedure for AF demonstrate similar clinical outcomes compared to patients younger than 70 years.

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