Differences in Quality of Life Between Atrial Fibrillation Patients with Low Stroke Risk Treated With and Without Catheter Ablation

Background Impacts of a single radiofrequency ablation ( RFA ) on quality of life (QoL) were not well investigated in atrial fibrillation ( AF ) patients with low stroke risk. Methods and Results Nine hundred AF patients with low CHADS 2 score (ie, CHADS 2 ≤1) who completed both a baseline and 6‐month Atrial Fibrillation Effect on QualiTy‐of‐life ( AFEQT ) questionnaire were selected from The Chinese Atrial Fibrillation Registry between 2011 and 2013. A final cohort of 222 patients was constructed after a propensity score matching with 74 in the RFA group and 148 in the non‐ RFA group. Domains of AFEQT were balanced at baseline between the 2 groups. No statistically significant differences were noted in QoL (all P >0.05) when AFEQT at 6 months was compared between groups, except for the symptoms domain (83.07±12.37 units in the RFA group vs. 77.68±17.14 units in the non‐ RFA group; P =0.008) and treatment satisfaction domain (76.34±14.92 units in the RFA group vs. 70.38±16.81 units in the non‐ RFA group; P =0.01). Within‐group changes in all domains and the global score of the questionnaire were moderate to large, whereas between‐group comparisons in baseline to 6‐month changes and QoL at 6 months were small to moderate according to Cohen effect sizes. Conclusions QoL was balanced at baseline and improved at 6 months in both groups from this observational propensity‐matched cohort based on the AFEQT questionnaire. However, RFA treatment was only associated with small‐to‐moderate superiorities over non‐ RFA treatment. The role of RFA in QoL improvement among AF patients with low stroke risk requires further research.