Sex differences and temporal trends in hospitalization for catheter ablation of non-valvular atrial fibrillation: a single-center experience for 15 years

Abstract

Background. ere exist sex differences in the clinical profile, management, and outcome of atrial fibrillation (AF). Catheter ablation of AF has become a first-line therapy and has markedly made headway over the recent decades. Little is known about sex differences and temporal trends in hospitalization for catheter ablation of AF in the real-world setting. Methods. We retrospectively retrieved medical records of patients at Beijing Anzhen Hospital between January 2005 and December 2019. e patients undergoing catheter ablation of AF were enrolled. Demographical and clinical data were compared between sexes. e temporal trends of sex differences were evaluated. Results. We identified 13502 male patients (66.8%) and 6713 female patients (33.2%). e number of patients undergoing AF ablation had remarkably increased over time, but no sex differences were observed (p � 0.17). e median age of women was five years older than that of men (p < 0.001). e median time of in-hospital stay for the women decreased from 11 days to 4 days and for the men from 9 to 4 days. In-hospital mortality was 0.03% and 0.01% for women and men, respectively, with no significant difference between sexes. e women were more likely to have a comorbid diagnosis of hypertension and heart failure than men (p < 0.001). e CHA 2 DS 2 -VA score was higher in women than in men (1.64 vs. 1.28, p < 0.001). e temporal trend in the score increased in women from 1.17 to 1.81 (p < 0.001) and in men from 0.91 to 1.41 (p < 0.001). e percentage of patients with CHA 2 DS 2 -VA score ≥2 was higher in women than in men (49.8% vs. 35.8%, p < 0.001), and the temporal trend of this sex gap was nearly doubled (8.0% in 2005-2007 vs. 15.5% in 2017-2019, p � 0.03). Conclusions. Safety of catheter ablation for AF was comparable in both sexes. In contrast, the women showed a higher CHA 2 DS 2 -VA score than men. e percentage of patients with CHA 2 DS 2 -VA score ≥2 increased more quickly in women than in men. Furthermore, sex-specific research is warranted to reduce this sex disparity.

Sex differences and temporal trends in hospitalization for catheter ablation of non-valvular atrial fibrillation: a single-center experience for 15 years

“…is manuscript was preprinted, but the authors retracted it due to some inaccurate data being misused [27].…”

Sex Differences and Temporal Trends in Hospitalization for Catheter Ablation of Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation: A Single-Center Experience for 15 Years

“…This manuscript was preprinted, but the authors retracted it due to some inaccurate data being misused [ 27 ].…”