Catheter Ablation Versus Medical Rate Control for Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Heart Failure

Summary

It is still uncertain what the best treatment is for patients who have both atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure. The aim of the study is to help identify the optimal treatment for patients with these two significant medical conditions. This will be performed by comparing two alternative strategies for AF management: catheter ablation (to restore normal rhythm) and medical therapy (to control heart rate, but not aiming ro restore normal rhythm). After random assignment, the effect of each strategy will be assessed by looking for changes in exercise capacity, symptoms, heart pump function, and quality of life during 12 months of follow-up.

Timeline

Start

2009-04

Primary completion

2012-06

Completion

2012-07

Publications

• Background Hsu LF, Jais P, Sanders P, Garrigue S, Hocini M, Sacher F, Takahashi Y, Rotter M, Pasquie JL, Scavee C, Bordachar P, Clementy J, Haissaguerre M. Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation in congestive heart failure. N Engl J Med. 2004 Dec 2;351(23):2373-83. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa041018.
• Background Dries DL, Exner DV, Gersh BJ, Domanski MJ, Waclawiw MA, Stevenson LW. Atrial fibrillation is associated with an increased risk for mortality and heart failure progression in patients with asymptomatic and symptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction: a retrospective analysis of the SOLVD trials. Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1998 Sep;32(3):695-703. doi: 10.1016/s0735-1097(98)00297-6.
• Background Middlekauff HR, Stevenson WG, Stevenson LW. Prognostic significance of atrial fibrillation in advanced heart failure. A study of 390 patients. Circulation. 1991 Jul;84(1):40-8. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.84.1.40.
• Background Swedberg K, Olsson LG, Charlesworth A, Cleland J, Hanrath P, Komajda M, Metra M, Torp-Pedersen C, Poole-Wilson P. Prognostic relevance of atrial fibrillation in patients with chronic heart failure on long-term treatment with beta-blockers: results from COMET. Eur Heart J. 2005 Jul;26(13):1303-8. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehi166. Epub 2005 Mar 14.
• Background Roy D, Talajic M, Nattel S, Wyse DG, Dorian P, Lee KL, Bourassa MG, Arnold JM, Buxton AE, Camm AJ, Connolly SJ, Dubuc M, Ducharme A, Guerra PG, Hohnloser SH, Lambert J, Le Heuzey JY, O'Hara G, Pedersen OD, Rouleau JL, Singh BN, Stevenson LW, Stevenson WG, Thibault B, Waldo AL; Atrial Fibrillation and Congestive Heart Failure Investigators. Rhythm control versus rate control for atrial fibrillation and heart failure. N Engl J Med. 2008 Jun 19;358(25):2667-77. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0708789.
• Background Pedersen OD, Brendorp B, Elming H, Pehrson S, Kober L, Torp-Pedersen C. Does conversion and prevention of atrial fibrillation enhance survival in patients with left ventricular dysfunction? Evidence from the Danish Investigations of Arrhythmia and Mortality ON Dofetilide/(DIAMOND) study. Card Electrophysiol Rev. 2003 Sep;7(3):220-4. doi: 10.1023/B:CEPR.0000012386.82055.81.
• Background Corley SD, Epstein AE, DiMarco JP, Domanski MJ, Geller N, Greene HL, Josephson RA, Kellen JC, Klein RC, Krahn AD, Mickel M, Mitchell LB, Nelson JD, Rosenberg Y, Schron E, Shemanski L, Waldo AL, Wyse DG; AFFIRM Investigators. Relationships between sinus rhythm, treatment, and survival in the Atrial Fibrillation Follow-Up Investigation of Rhythm Management (AFFIRM) Study. Circulation. 2004 Mar 30;109(12):1509-13. doi: 10.1161/01.CIR.0000121736.16643.11. Epub 2004 Mar 8.
• Background Hagens VE, Crijns HJ, Van Veldhuisen DJ, Van Den Berg MP, Rienstra M, Ranchor AV, Bosker HA, Kamp O, Tijssen JG, Veeger NJ, Van Gelder IC; RAte Control versus Electrical cardioversion for persistent atrial fibrillation study group. Rate control versus rhythm control for patients with persistent atrial fibrillation with mild to moderate heart failure: results from the RAte Control versus Electrical cardioversion (RACE) study. Am Heart J. 2005 Jun;149(6):1106-11. doi: 10.1016/j.ahj.2004.11.030.
• Jones DG, Haldar SK, Jarman JW, Johar S, Hussain W, Markides V, Wong T. Impact of stepwise ablation on the biatrial substrate in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation and heart failure. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol. 2013 Aug;6(4):761-8. doi: 10.1161/CIRCEP.113.000390. Epub 2013 Jul 23.
• Jones DG, Haldar SK, Hussain W, Sharma R, Francis DP, Rahman-Haley SL, McDonagh TA, Underwood SR, Markides V, Wong T. A randomized trial to assess catheter ablation versus rate control in the management of persistent atrial fibrillation in heart failure. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2013 May 7;61(18):1894-903. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2013.01.069. Epub 2013 Mar 7.

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