Rosuvastatin reduces the recurrence rate following catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation in patients with heart failure

The aim of the present study was to assess whether rosuvastatin could reduce the recurrence rate of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with heart failure (HF) following catheter ablation (CA). A total of 107 patients with HF and AF who underwent CA of AF by endocardial mapping and radiofrequency between June 2012 and May 2014 were recruited. The patients were randomly divided into three subgroups: i) Administered with 10 mg rosuvastatin daily following ablation (group 1, n=36); ii) administered with 20 mg rosuvastatin daily following ablation (group 2, n=36); and iii) only treated with conventional treatment of HF following ablation (group 3, n=35). After the procedure, patients were followed in the outpatient clinic by interrogation of Holter monitoring. The AF recurrence rate of group 2 was low in comparison with group 1 (22.2% vs. 38.9%, P=0.013) and group 3 (22.2% vs. 48.6%, P=0.021). In comparison with baseline, the parameters of the left ventricular ejection fraction, left atrial diameter (LAD), and the levels of N-terminal pronatriuretic peptide and hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were all improved in three groups. Furthermore, multivariate analysis demonstrated that LAD [hazard ratio (HR): 1.12, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06-1.67, P=0.049], hs-CRP (HR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.11-1.92, P=0.002) and duration of AF (HR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.09-1.18, P=0.011) were independent predictors of AF recurrence in patients with HF following CA. Therefore, the present study has demonstrated that treatment with 20 mg rosuvastatin daily following CA was able to significantly decrease the recurrence rate of AF in patients with HF, and LAD, hs-CRP, and duration of AF were independent predictors of AF recurrence in patients with HF following CA. In conclusion, the present study has also demonstrated that CA may improve cardiac function in patients with HF and AF.