Elevated Left Atrial Volume Index Predicts Incident Atrial Fibrillation
After Typical Right Atrial Flutter Ablation
Abstract
Incident atrial fibrillation (AF) is common after cavotricuspid isthmus
(CTI) dependent atrial flutter (AFL) ablation. Risk factors for
development of AF post ablation are not well understood. To identify
patients undergoing CTI ablation for AFL most likely to develop AF. We
identified 114 patients without history of AF who underwent CTI AFL
ablation. We evaluated baseline characteristics, electrophysiology study
(EPS) data and echocardiographic data for incidence of AF within 3
years. Incident AF was identified in 46 patients (40%) during 600 + 405
days follow-up. Left atrial volume index (LAVI) was significantly
greater in patients who developed AF compared to those that did not (37
12.2 ml/m2 vs 30 13.4 ml/m2, p=.004). EPS data was similar between
groups. Area under the receiver operator characteristic curve based on
the LAVI for prediction of AF was 0.7 (p = 0.004). Kaplan-Meier
estimated incidence of AF was significantly greater in patients with
LAVI ≥ 30 ml/m2 than LAVI < 30 ml/m2 (66% vs 27%, p=0.004).
Risk of incident AF in patients with LAVI > 40 mL/m2 was
similar to that of LAVI 30-40 ml/m2 (67% vs 63%, respectively,
p=0.97). In multivariate analysis LAVI remained the sole independent
predictor of incidence AF after CTI AFL ablation. LAVI ≥ 30 ml/m2 is
associated with significantly increased risk of incident AF following
CTI ablation for typical AFL. The utility of elevated LAVI for
identifying patients that may benefit from intensified arrhythmia
monitoring, or prophylactic AF ablation requires further evaluation.