Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41910770›Full record

ArticleClinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society2026

Impact of catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation on cardiac ventricular electrical activity: assessment of premature ventricular complex burden.

Johannes Wörsdörfer, Noah Fantazi, Anas Alnaimi, Mostafa-Mahdi Emrani, Maximiliane Oldhafer, Andreas Napp, Nikolaus Marx, Matthias Daniel Zink, Michael Gramlich

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Article in Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Johannes WörsdörferDepartment of Cardiology, Angiology and Critical Care (Medical Clinic 1), University Hospital RWTH, Pauwelsstraße 30, Aachen, 52074, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0008-4371-3920
Noah FantaziDepartment of Cardiology, Angiology and Critical Care (Medical Clinic 1), University Hospital RWTH, Pauwelsstraße 30, Aachen, 52074, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-3816-9735
Anas AlnaimiDepartment of Cardiology, Angiology and Critical Care (Medical Clinic 1), University Hospital RWTH, Pauwelsstraße 30, Aachen, 52074, Germany.
Mostafa-Mahdi EmraniDepartment of Cardiology, Angiology and Critical Care (Medical Clinic 1), University Hospital RWTH, Pauwelsstraße 30, Aachen, 52074, Germany.
Maximiliane OldhaferDepartment of Cardiology, Angiology and Critical Care (Medical Clinic 1), University Hospital RWTH, Pauwelsstraße 30, Aachen, 52074, Germany.
Andreas NappDepartment of Cardiology, Angiology and Critical Care (Medical Clinic 1), University Hospital RWTH, Pauwelsstraße 30, Aachen, 52074, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5329-6675
Nikolaus MarxDepartment of Cardiology, Angiology and Critical Care (Medical Clinic 1), University Hospital RWTH, Pauwelsstraße 30, Aachen, 52074, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6141-634X
Matthias Daniel ZinkDepartment of Cardiology, Ortenau Hospital Offenburg-Lahr, 77654, Offenburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3889-5386
Michael GramlichDepartment of Cardiology, Angiology and Critical Care (Medical Clinic 1), University Hospital RWTH, Pauwelsstraße 30, Aachen, 52074, Germany. mgramlich@ukaachen.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5233-6778

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundData on premature ventricular complex (PVC) burden after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for atrial fibrillation (AF) are inconsistent and often limited to selected populations.

methodsWe retrospectively analyzed patients undergoing successful first-time PVI for paroxysmal or persistent AF between January 2019 and June 2023. PVC burden was quantified by long-term ECG at baseline, 3 months, and 12 months. Ablation energy sources included cryoballoon, radiofrequency, and pulsed field ablation.

resultsAmong 1,069 patients, median PVC burden decreased from 6.82/h at baseline to 1.44/h at 3 months and 3.75/h at 12 months. In patients with complete follow-up (n = 165), PVC burden declined significantly overall (Friedman test p < 0.001). Post-hoc analyses confirmed reductions from baseline to 3 and 12 months, with a modest increase between 3 and 12 months (all p < 0.01). PVC burden was similar regardless of AF recurrence or ablation energy. At 12 months, 4.6% of patients had high PVC burden (> 5%). Diabetes mellitus (OR = 4.43; 95% CI: 1.49-13.17; p = 0.007) and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (OR = 6.36; 95% CI: 2.03-19.91; p = 0.002) were independently associated with elevated burden, while other covariates were not significant.

conclusionPVI significantly reduces PVC burden in most patients, independent of AF recurrence or ablation modality. Diabetes and impaired ventricular function identify patients at risk of persistent high PVC burden. PVI may particularly benefit AF patients with symptomatic PVCs, but larger prospective studies are needed to validate these findings and assess clinical outcomes.

Indexed as

Atrial fibrillationCatheter ablationImpaired ventricular functionPremature ventricular complexesPulmonary vein isolation

Identifiers

PMID41910770

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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.