Background
The reported incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after successful ablation of typical isthmus dependent right atrial flutter (AFl) has been variably reported. Some authors have reported this incidence to be as high as 68% for patients with known AF pre-ablation, to as little as 21.5% of patients with no known AF prior to ablation. Given that monitoring in these follow-up studies was variable and rarely continuous, the true incidence of post-ablation AF may be significantly higher than previously reported. Patients with AFl who also have dual chamber devices (pacemakers or defibrillators); however, are continuously monitored for arrhythmia with near perfect accuracy. Here, we report the true incidence of AF post ablation of typical flutter in an ambulatory private practice setting.
Methods
Our database was queried for all patients who underwent successful AFl ablation in the past 8 years in whom a device had been implanted prior to the flutter ablation. Of 287 total AFl ablations, 23 patients with previously placed devices were identified. From these patients, we found 14 in whom no AF was noted prior to the ablation.
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