Long-Term Monitoring of Patients With Persistent Atrial Fibrillation After Pulsed Field Ablation

Most studies have followed patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (PeAF) using 12-lead or 24-h Holter electrocardiography, but this may overestimate the effectiveness of pulsed field ablation (PFA) in the treatment of PeAF. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of PFA in patients with PeAF and follow-up using insertable cardiac monitoring that can provide information on the actual status of atrial arrhythmia (AA) recurrence after PFA. We prospectively enrolled 49 patients with PeAF who underwent PFA strategy comprising superior vena cava isolation, pulmonary vein isolation, and posterior wall box isolation between December 2022 and January 2024. After median follow-up of 14.1 months, 30 patients (61.22%) had zero AA burden. Kaplan-Meier analysis show that the freedom from recurrence increased with arrhythmia duration thresholds, from 59.54% to 80.50% (duration < 2 min vs. duration > 48 h, p = 0.040). Safety events occurred in two patients (one transient ischemic attack and one pseudoaneurysm). PFA is an effective modality for the treatment of patients with PeAF.