Aggressive Risk Factor Reduction Benefits AF Patients After Ablation

Catheter ablation has become standard therapy for individuals with atrial fibrillation (AF) despite less-than-ideal success rates and frequent AF recurrence. Although advancements in catheter techniques have improved outcomes, AF recurrence remains high. Certain clinical characteristics clearly increase the risk for AF. Many of these also increase the risk for AF recurrence after ablation. Researchers in Australia now report on the ARREST-AF cohort study results on aggressive risk reduction after AF ablation.

Of 281 consecutive patients undergoing AF ablation, 149 had a body-mass index (BMI) ≥27 kg/m² and ≥1 cardiac risk factor and entered the study. Of these patients, 61 opted for aggressive risk factor management (RFM) provided according t…