Does type D personality impact on the prognosis of patients who underwent catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation? A 1-year follow-up study

Although Type D personality has been associated with the prognosis of various cardiac diseases, few studies have investigated the influence of Type D personality on the cardiac and psychiatric prognoses of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).Depression, anxiety, and quality of life were measured at baseline and 6 months. The recurrence of AF was measured during 1-year following radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) for AF. The Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank tests were used to compare the cumulative recurrence of AF. ACox proportional hazard model was conducted to identify factors that contribute to the recurrence of AF.A total of 236 patients admitted for RFCA were recruited. Patients with a Type D personality had higher levels of depression and anxiety and a poorer quality of life compared to controls. Although depression, anxiety, and quality of life had improved 6 months after RFCA, significant differences in psychiatric symptoms remained between patients with and without Type D personality. In the Cox models, the type of AF was the only factor that influenced the recurrence of AF.Our results suggest that Type D personality predominately influences psychological distress in patients with AF, but not the recurrence of AF.