Spanish Registry on Catheter Ablation. Second official report of the Working Group on Electrophysiology and Arrhythmias of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (2002)

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: We present the results (success rates and complication rates) for the second consecutive year of the 2002-Spanish Catheter Ablation Registry, developed by the Spanish Society of Cardiology. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Data were collected retrospectively by questionnaires sent to all interventional cardiology laboratories in Spain. The outcomes and complications of ablation procedures performed during 2002 were classified according to the substrate or mechanism of arrhythmia treated. RESULTS: Forty-three centers voluntarily submitted completed questionnaires. The number of procedures analyzed was 4970, performed at 42 centers, for a mean of 118 78 procedures per center. Global outcome rates were success in 93%, major complications in 1.2%, and death in 0.04% of the patients. The three main substrates treated were AV nodal reentry (29%), accessory pathways (28%) and common atrial flutter (24%). CONCLUSIONS: The 2002 Spanish National Catheter Ablation Registry reports the activity of the majority (90%) of interventional cardiology laboratories in Spain. The efficacy of catheter ablation procedures in Spain is high, and the complication and mortality rates are low.