Obstructive sleep apnoea risk profile and the risk of recurrence of atrial fibrillation after catheter ablation

Aims: The aim of this study was to identify the impact of obstructivesleep apnoea (OSA) on recurrence after catheter ablation ofparoxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods and results: One hundred and seventy-eight consecutive patients with paroxysmalAF who underwent index circumferential pulmonary vein (PV) isolationwere prospectively enrolled. The patients were divided intohigh risk (HR group) and low risk (LR group) for OSA group withBerlin questionnaire. Of the 178 patients, 104 (58.4%) werein the HR group and 74 (41.6%) were in the LR group. After amean follow-up of 344 ± 137 (91–572) days, 44 patients(24.7%) experienced recurrence, and the recurrence rate didnot differ between the HR (25.0%) and LR groups (24.3%, P =0.855). Cox analysis revealed that PV isolation was the onlyindependent predictor of recurrence (hazard ratio 5.11, 95%confidence interval 1.42–18.47, P = 0.013). There wasno significant difference in the incidence of complicationsbetween the HR and LR groups (2.9 vs. 1.9%, P = 0.729). Conclusion: The recurrence rate and incidence of complications did not differin patients with different risk profiles for OSA. The presenceof OSA should not lower the decision threshold to choose anablative procedure in paroxysmal AF.