ArticleJournal of cardiovascular electrophysiology2023
Impact of obesity on catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation: Patient characteristics, procedural complications, outcomes, and quality of life.
Article in Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Body mass index as a determinant of scar formation post-AF ablation: Insights from DECAAF II.Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology · 2024Trial
- Comparative Outcomes of Deep Sedation Versus General Anesthesia in Cryoablation for Atrial Fibrillation: Insights From the Korean Heart Rhythm Society Cryoablation Registry.Korean circulation journal · 2026Article
- Trends in Atrial Fibrillation-Related Mortality Among Adults With Obesity in the United States From 1999 to 2024.Obesity science & practice · 2026Article
- Pulsed Field Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Obesity: Procedural and Clinical Outcomes.Pacing and clinical electrophysiology : PACE · 2026Observational
- A New Paradigm for Atrial Fibrillation Ablation in Obesity Focusing on Substrate Remodeling and Patient-Centered Outcomes.Reviews in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Review
- Impact of Body Weight on Sedation-Related Outcomes in Complex Electrophysiological Interventions.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Construction of a Multidisciplinary Follow-Up Indicator System Based on the ABC Pathway for Patients with Atrial Fibrillation After Ablation: A Delphi Study.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2026Article
- BMI, race and AF recurrence post ablation: a meta-analysis and systematic review.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Review
- Does obesity affect atrial fibrillation ablation outcomes? Insights from a national atrial fibrillation catheter ablation registry: One-year follow-up.Heart rhythm O2 · 2026Article
- The Impact of Obesity on the Left Atrium and Arrhythmia Recurrence in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Undergoing Ablation.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Body mass index and pulmonary vein isolation: real-world data on outcomes and quality of life.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2024Article
- Obesity as a risk factor in atrial fibrillation and heart failure.Journal of diabetes and metabolic disorders · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
21 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
introductionObesity is a well-known risk factor for atrial fibrillation (AF). We aim to evaluate the effect of baseline obesity on procedural complications, AF recurrence, and symptoms following catheter ablation (CA).
methodsAll consecutive patients undergoing AF ablation (2013-2021) at our center were enrolled in a prospective registry. The study included all consecutive patients with available data on body mass index (BMI). Primary endpoint was AF recurrence based on electrocardiographic documentation. Patients were categorized into five groups according to their baseline BMI. Patients survey at baseline and at follow-up were used to calculate AF symptom severity score (AFSS) as well as AF burden (mean of AF duration score and AF frequency score; scale 0: no AF to 10: continuous and 9 frequencies/durations in between). Patients were scheduled for follow-up visits with 12-lead electrocardiogram at 3, 6, and 12 months after ablation, and every 6 months thereafter.
resultsA total of 5841 patients were included (17% normal weight, 34% overweight, 27% Class I, 13% Class II, and 9% Class III obesity). Major procedural complications were low (1.5%) among all BMI subgroups. At 3 years AF recurrence was the highest in Class III obesity patients (48%) followed by Class II (43%), whereas Class I, normal, and overweight had similar results with lower recurrence (35%). In multivariable analyses, Class III obesity (BMI ≥ 40) was independently associated with increased risk for AF recurrence (hazard ratio, 1.30; confidence interval, 1.06-1.60; p = .01), whereas other groups had similar risk in comparison to normal weight. Baseline AFSS was lowest in normal weight, and highest in Obesity-III, median (interquartile range) 10 (5-16) versus 15 (10-21). In all groups, CA resulted in a significant improvement in their AFSS with a similar magnitude among the groups. At follow-up, AF burden was minimal and did not differ significantly between the groups.
conclusionAF ablation is safe with a low complication rate across all BMI groups. Morbid obesity (BMI ≥ 40) was significantly associated with reduced AF ablation success. However, ablation resulted in improvement in QoL including reduction of the AFSS, and AF burden regardless of BMI.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.