Effectiveness and safety of atrial fibrillation ablation in females

BACKGROUND Existing data on the effectiveness and safety of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in females are limited to studies of small sample size, lacking longer term follow-up or adjustment for potential confounders. METHODS A total of 6421 patients (2072 females) undergoing a first AF ablation procedure after enrollment in the Chinese Atrial Fibrillation Registry (China-AF) study between August 2011 and December 2017 were analyzed. We evaluated the effectiveness (recurrence of documented [symptomatic or not] atrial tachyarrhythmia (AT)) and the safety (incidence of procedure-related complications) of AF ablation in female patients compared to male patients. Sensitivity analyses based on routine data were also utilized to avoid potential sex differences in reporting of AF symptoms. RESULTS Females were about 5 years older than males at the time of ablation (mean age 63.4 ± 9.5 vs 58.3 ± 10.8, P