real-world experience of catheter ablation for the treatment of paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation

Conditions: Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation; Persistent Atrial Fibrillation

Summary: the primary purpose of this registry is to obtain real-world clinical experience of paroxysmal (paf) and persistent (psaf) atrial fibrillation ablation radiofrequency (rf) technologies. data from the registry will be used to assess clinical outcomes, including procedural efficiency, safety, and long-term, effectiveness of catheter ablation with novel rf technologies in paf and psaf patients.

the real af registry is an observational, prospective, multi-center, non-randomized registry designed to obtain real-world clinical experience of paroxysmal and persistent ablation rf technologies (e.g., thermocool smarttouch®, thermocool smarttouch® sf). future new contact force technologies may be included as they become available in the market. patient assessments will occur at the following time points: 1) pre-ablation, 2) procedure, 3) 10-12 weeks, 4) 6 months (monitor only) and 5) 1 year post ablation. the objective of this registry is to assess clinical outcomes, including procedural efficiency, safety, long-term, effectiveness of rf ablations in the treatment of patients with paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation. the outcomes of the registry are: 1) long term effectiveness defined as freedom from atrial arrhythmia recurrence post 90 day blanking period, and 2) acute and late onset complications. sites selected for this registry will already have the following pre and post procedure assessments as part of their standard of care: patient assessments at the following time points: (1) pre-ablation or baseline, (2) procedure, (3) 10-12 weeks, (4) 6 months (monitor only) and (5) 1 year post ablation. pre ablation/baseline assessment should include: tte (within 6 months of procedure), chads2vasc, sleep apnea, aad status, oac, medical and arrhythmia history 10-12 week follow-up office visit: physician evaluation, aad status, oac usage, repeat tte, and arrhythmia reoccurrence and treatment assessment monitoring: 96-hour continuous heart rhythm monitor scheduled at 6 months and 12 months post ablation, with an event monitor ordered as needed for symptomatic arrhythmias. 12 month follow up office visit: physician evaluation, af type, af monitoring method, sleep apnea, post-procedure arrhythmia treatments, af related symptoms and qol improvement, aad and oac usage, cha2ds2vasc and arrhythmia reoccurrence and treatment assessment

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * symptomatic paroxysmal (af episode terminate spontaneously within 7 days) or persistent (af sustained beyond 7 days) who, in the opinion of the investigator, are candidates for ablation for af * 18 years of age or older * de novo ablation procedure unless it is a repeat for a patient whose index procedure is also in the registry * able and willing to participate in baseline and follow up evaluations for the full length of the registry * willing and able to provide informed consent, if applicable exclusion criteria: * enrolled in an investigational drug or device clinical trial, or any trial that dictates the treatment plan * long-standing persistent af (af greater than one year's duration) * having a repeat ablation, unless the subject's index ablation procedure is also included in the registry * in the opinion of the investigator, any known contraindication to an ablation procedure