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Atrial Fibrillation Ablation in Octogenarians: Where Do We Stand?

  • Invasive Electrophysiology and Pacing (J Singh, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

The prevalence of atrial fibrillation increases significantly with age, affecting nearly 10 % of adults greater than 80 years of age. Complications from atrial fibrillation, including stroke, also increase with age. Medical therapy includes anticoagulation, ventricular rate control, and if symptoms persist, maintenance of sinus rhythm with antiarrhythmic drugs. However, anticoagulation and antiarrhythmic therapy is often challenging in the elderly due to side effects, comorbidities, and heightened sensitivity to medications. Catheter based ablation of atrial fibrillation is an effective treatment for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. However, the major randomized controlled trials, such as Thermocool AF and STOP-AF studies, have excluded the elderly patients. Current guidelines suggest caution when considering ablation for elderly patients due to a lack of available data. We will review recent studies that have observed the outcomes of atrial fibrillation ablation in the elderly, specifically those studies that included octogenarians.

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Conflict of Interest

Gevorg Stepanyan declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Edward P. Gerstenfeld has received grant support from Rhythmia Medical, Biosense Webster; and has received honoraria from Medtronic, Biosense Webster, St. Jude Medical, and Voyage Medical.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, San Francisco, 500 Parnassus Avenue, MU4E, Box 1354, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA

    Gevorg Stepanyan & Edward P. Gerstenfeld

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  1. Gevorg Stepanyan
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  2. Edward P. Gerstenfeld
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Correspondence to Edward P. Gerstenfeld.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Invasive Electrophysiology and Pacing

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Stepanyan, G., Gerstenfeld, E.P. Atrial Fibrillation Ablation in Octogenarians: Where Do We Stand?. Curr Cardiol Rep 15, 406 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-013-0406-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-013-0406-y

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