Introduction: The ablation of supraventricular tachycardias (SVT) using radiofrequency energy (RF) is a procedure with a high primary success rate. However, there is a scarcity of data regarding the long term outcome, particularly with respect to quality of life (QoL).Methods and Results: In this retrospective single-center study, 454 patients who underwent ablation of SVT between 2002 and 2007 received a detailed questionnaire addressing matters of QoL. The questionnaire was a modified version of the SF-36 Health Survey questionnaire and the Symptom Checklist – Frequency and Severity Scale.After a mean follow up of 4.5±1.3 years, 309 (68.1%) of the contacted 454 patients (269 female, 59.2%, mean age 58+/-6.5) completed the questionnaire. Despite of 27% of relapses in the study group, 91.7% considered the procedure a long-term success. The remainder of patients experienced no change in (3.7%) or worsening of (4.7%) symptoms. There were no significant differences between the various types of SVT (p=1). QoL in patients with Atrio-Ventricular Nodal Reentry Tachycardia (AVNRT) and Atrio-Ventricular Reentry Tachycardia (AVRT) improved significantly (p<0.0005 respectively p<0.043), whereas QoL in patients with Ectopic Atrial Tachycardia (EAT) showed a non-significant trend towards improvement. Main symptoms before ablation, such as tachycardia (91.5%), increased incidence of tachycardia episodes over time (78.1%), anxiety (55.5%) and reduced physical capacity in daily life (52%) were significantly improved after ablation (p<0.0001).Conclusion: The high acute ablation success of SVT persists for years in long term follow up and translates into a significant improvement of QoL in most patients.

In this first prospective study of PV isolation using the HDMM, our findings suggest, that this method is safe and yields good primary success rates and favourable clinical outcome at 6 month. The new technology based on high resolution recordings, offers beside good anatomical orientation a direct electrophysiological control for monitoring of bidirectional conduction block.