Long-Term Outcomes of Drug-Refractory Atrial Fibrillation After Atrioventricular Node Ablation Combined with Implantation of a Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Defibrillator (CRT-D).

Objective

In this study, we aimed to determine the most significant risk factors for 5-year mortality in patients with paroxysmal and persistent drug-refractory tachysystolic atrial fibrillation after undergoing atrioventricular node ablation (AVNA) in combination with the implantation of a permanent three-chamber pacemaker with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator function (CRT-D).

Methods

This prospective single-center cohort study included 101 patients with chronic heart failure (mean age 62 ± 15.5 years; 70.3% male) with paroxysmal or persistent drug-refractory atrial fibrillation who underwent atrioventricular node ablation and CRT-D implantation. All patients received optimal medical therapy before and after undergoing the procedure. Predictors of 5-year mortality were assessed using exploratory machine-learning methods, including random forest and Shapley additive explanations.

Results

During 5-year follow-up, 13 cardiovascular deaths were recorded. Five key predictors of mortality were identified: left ventricular ejection fraction, 6 min walk distance, mean pulmonary artery pressure, systolic relaxation coefficient, and degree of mitral regurgitation. The exploratory predictive model showed high accuracy (92%) in terms of classifying the outcomes.

Conclusions

Atrioventricular node ablation (AVNA) combined with CRT-D was associated with the observed long-term clinical outcomes observed in patients with drug-refractory tachysystolic atrial fibrillation. The exploratory machine learning analysis identified key mortality-associated factors, which may support future efforts in personalized risk stratification and hypothesis generation. The combination of AVNA and CRT-D was associated with the observed long-term outcomes in this real-world cohort.