A Single Center Experience of Atrial Fibrillation Ablation with Cryoballon

Background: Electrical isolation of the pulmonary veins is known as the fundamental of for atrial fibrillation (AF) treatment invasively, and thus, has been suggested as the first-line therapy in AF curation. In this study, we presented our single center pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) experience and long-term clinical outcome. Methods: One hundred and six symptomatic AF patients resistant to medical therapy underwent cryoablation of the pulmonary veins. Participants were divided into two groups regarding AF categorization as persistent or paroxysmal. Recurrence and peri-procedural complications were evaluated after the treatment. Results: A 106 patients, 67 males (63.2%), with mean age of 51.8 ±13.1 years, underwent cryoablation. While the paroxysmal AF group was composed of 90 patients (84.9%); the persistent AF group consisted of 16 patients (15.1%). The procedure mean time was 115,9±9,1 minute while the fluoroscopy mean time was 29,2±5,6 minutes. A total of 8 (7.5%) non-fatal complications were experienced. A total of 18 recurrences (17%) were observed during mean duration of 25.2 months follow-up period. The survival rates without AF were 85.6% and 61.8 % in in the paroxysmal and persistent groups, respectively. Conclusion: The cryoballoon PVI seems to be a successful and reliable method of treating AF and may be preferred as a primary procedure even in patients with persistent AF.