Effect of catheter ablation on left atrial geometry
The mean absolute LA volume in all 71 patients was 128,4 ± 30 ml before and 121,8 ± 30 ml after PVI, p < 0,001 and 65,6 ± 14 ml/m2 vs 62,2 ± 15 ml/m2, p<0,001 after correction for body surface area. The LA sphericity was calculated 82 ± 2% before and 83 ± 2% after index PVI, p=0,004. Furthermore, the calculated surface/BSA and antero-posterior diameter of LA before and after PVI was 74,4 ± 11,2 vs 70,4 ± 11,2 cm2/m2, p<0,001 and 41,7 ± 5 vs 41,5 ± 5 mm, p=ns respectively (Table 1).
We performed a subgroup analysis for patients with paroxysmal and persistent AF. The group of patients with paroxysmal AF (n=31) had a statistical significant difference in their LA volume (121,8 ± 25,7 vs 116 ± 32 ml, p=0,008), LA sphericity (82,3 ± 2,1 vs 83,1 ± 2%, p=0,009) and LA surface area (71,8 ± 9 vs 68,5 ± 9,5 cm2/m2, p=0,001), whereas the antero-posterior diameter remained unchanged (41,2 ± 5 vs 41,2 ± 6 mm, p=ns).
The group of patients with persistent AF (n=40) showed a statistical significant difference in their LA volume (133,5 ± 32 vs 126 ± 32 ml, p=0,005) and LA surface area (76,3 ± 12,3 vs 71,8 ± 12,4 cm2/m2, p=0,005), whereas the change of their LA sphericity (82,4 ± 2,8 vs 83 ± 2,4%, p=ns) and antero-posterior diameter (41,1 ± 5 vs 41,7 ± 6 mm, p=ns) did not reach statistical significance (Table 3).