Impact of Age on Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence Following Surgical Ablation

Abstract Objectives The incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients over 75-years of age is expected to increase, and it’s treatment remains challenging. This study evaluated the impact of age on the outcomes of surgical ablation (SA) of AF. Methods A retrospective review was performed of patients who underwent the Cox-Maze IV procedure (CMP-IV) at a single institution between 2005 and 2017. The patients were divided into a younger (age Results The mean age of the elderly group was 78.5 ± 2.8 years. The majority of patients (423/696, 61%) had non-paroxysmal AF. The elderly patients had a lower BMI (P Conclusions The efficacy of the CMP-IV was worse in elderly patients, however the majority of patients remained free of ATAs at 5 years. The lower success rate in these higher risk patients should be considered when deciding to perform SA.