Initial Ablation Characteristics and Interval Between Initial
and Repeat Ablation
Among the 336 patients in this study, 213 underwent an initial AF
ablation for paroxysmal AF (PAF), and 123 had an initial AF ablation for
persistent AF (PsAF) (Table 4). The proportion of patients with PAF and
PsAF at the time of index ablation was comparable among the patients
undergoing repeat ablation for AF and atypical AFL. The index ablation
procedure was performed with RF energy in 190 (81.2%) of 234 of the
patients undergoing repeat ablation for AF and 99 (98%) of 102 patients
undergoing repeat ablation for atypical atrial flutter (p <
0.01). The remainder of the patients in both groups had an initial AF
ablation with the cryoballoon system. For the total cohort, the mean
duration between index and repeat ablation was 2.1 ± 2.9 years. There
was no difference in the interval between the index and repeat ablation
in recurrent AF vs. atypical AFL cohorts (2.2 vs. 1.9 years, p=0.29).