Effect of eplerenone on maintenance of sinus rhythm after catheter ablation in patients with long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation

  • Yoko Ito
  • , Hiro Yamasaki
  • , Yoshihisa Naruse
  • , Kentaro Yoshida
  • , Takashi Kaneshiro
  • , Nobuyuki Murakoshi
  • , Miyako Igarashi
  • , Kenji Kuroki
  • , Takeshi Machino
  • , Dongzhu Xu
  • , Fusanori Kunugita
  • , Yukio Sekiguchi
  • , Akira Sato
  • , Hiroshi Tada
  • , Kazutaka Aonuma

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

35 Scopus citations

Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated a relation between the rennin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and atrial fibrillation (AF), but there are no reports on the effect of eplerenone, a selective aldosterone blocker, on the prevention of AF recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of eplerenone on clinical outcomes after RFCA in patients with long-standing persistent AF. A total of 161 consecutive patients with long-standing persistent AF (sustained AF duration 1 to 20 years, mean 3.4 ± 3.8) who underwent RFCA were investigated. Eplerenone was used in 55 patients and not used in the remaining 106 patients. Other conventional pharmacologic agents, including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin type 1 receptor blockers, were used equally in the 2 groups. After 24 months of follow-up, 47% of the patients were free from AF recurrence. The rate of freedom from AF recurrence was significantly greater in the eplerenone group (60%) than in the noneplerenone group (40%) (p = 0.011). By univariate analysis, the duration of sustained AF (p <0.001), left atrial diameter (p = 0.010), left atrial volume index (p = 0.017), and early AF recurrence (p <0.001) were significantly associated with AF recurrence, and the use of eplerenone was associated with maintenance of sinus rhythm after RFCA (p = 0.022). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that longer duration of sustained AF (>3 years) (p <0.001) and early AF recurrence (p <0.001) were significantly associated with AF recurrence, and only eplerenone therapy significantly improved maintenance of sinus rhythm (p = 0.017). In conclusion, eplerenone significantly improved maintenance of sinus rhythm after RFCA in patients with long-standing persistent AF.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1012-1018
Number of pages7
JournalAmerican Journal of Cardiology
Volume111
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Apr 2013
Externally publishedYes

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