Comparison of the Effect of Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation on All-Cause Hospitalization in Patients with versus without Heart Failure (from the Nationwide Readmission Database)

Abstract Catheter ablation (CA) is associated with reduced arrhythmia recurrence and improved quality of life in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Heart failure (HF) is common among patients with AF and is associated with a high hospitalization burden. The real-world association between CA and rates of subsequent hospitalization in patients with AF and HF has not been well studied. Patients who underwent CA for AF during the middle 4 months of each year 2010-2015 were identified using the Nationwide Readmission Database. Patients were grouped according to the HF status and HF patients were stratified to reduced vs. preserved ejection fraction (EF) using ICD-9 codes. Rates of all-cause hospitalization 120 days before and after index admission were compared using the McNemar's test, before and after matching for baseline characteristics. A total of 10966 patients met inclusion criteria, including 1950 with HF. In the HF group, all-cause hospitalization rates changed from 45.8% before CA to 33.2% after (P