Stratifying risk of recurrence of atrial fibrillation following balloon cryoablation using the CAAP‐AF risk scoring system

Objective To determine if the CAAP‐AF tool could be applied to a cohort of patients in the United States undergoing cryoablation or AF utilizing second‐generation cryoballoons. Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major source of morbidity and expense, with over 33 million individuals affected worldwide and over 450 000 hospitalizations annually in the United States. Catheter ablation for AF is a class I indication for patients with symptomatic AF. The ability to predict postablation recurrence would have an enormous impact on both patient outcomes and cost to the health care system. Methods Our study was an observational, single‐center retrospective study to evaluate the utility of the CAAP‐AF risk scoring system in predicting recurrence of AF following second‐generation balloon cryoablation for AF. Results There were a total of 235 patients. From the initial cohort, 30.2% (71) had a recurrence of AF within 1 year of the cryoablation procedure. There was a statistically significant increase in mean age, left atrial diameter, left atrial volume index, CHADS 2 , CHADS 2 ‐VASc, and number of antiarrhythmics failed in the group that had recurrence of AF. There was also a statistically significant increase in the CAAP‐AF score in patients who had recurrence of AF. Conclusions The CAAP‐AF score predicted the freedom from AF 1 year following cryoablation for AF. The CAAP‐AF score can aid in selecting patients most likely to benefit from cryoablation, which includes patients with a low CAAP‐AF score, as they are most likely to remain AF free at 1 year.