While early recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmias is common post-ablation, it only predicts long-term recurrence in about half of cases, emphasizing the need to use clinical features to identify patients requiring aggressive early rhythm control.
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ERAT after AF ablation warrants caution before reintervention; leaves open the role of clinical predictors for late recurrence.
The use of blanking periods, the immediate period postablation during which transient tachyarrhythmia episodes are not considered recurrences, has been predicated on the assumption that not all early recurrences of atrial tachyarrhythmias (ERAT) will lead to later recurrences and, as such, does not necessarily represent treatment failure. While ERAT can be expected to occur in approximately 38% of patients within the first 3 months of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation, only half of these patients will manifest later recurrences. Clinical features related to the patient's history of AF, the index ablation procedure, and particularities of the ERAT can help identify patients at higher risk of later recurrence in whom aggressive attempts to control rhythm, including early cardioversion and reintervention, may be justified.
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Andrade et al. (2011) studied this question.
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