Does female sex increase the risk of cardiac tamponade in patients undergoing catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation?
Women undergoing atrial fibrillation ablation have an approximately 2-fold higher risk of cardiac tamponade, emphasizing the importance of performing these procedures in high-volume centers with surgical backup.
Tamponade during AF ablation procedures is relatively rare. Women have an ≈2-fold higher risk for developing this complication. The risk of tamponade among women decreases substantially in high-volume centers. Surgical backup and acute management skills for treating tamponade are important in centers performing AF ablation.
Michowitz et al. (Wed,) studied this question.