The left atrial appendage (LAA) is a nonpulmonary vein trigger site in atrial fibrillation (AF). The association of LAA structural remodeling (SRM) identified by late gadolinium enhancement magnetic resonance imaging (LGE-MRI) and AF ablation outcome has never been described. This study sought to investigate the clinical significance of LAA-SRM in AF patients who undergo ablation therapy. Consecutive patients with AF who underwent catheter ablation therapy within 14 days following MRI scan were included in this study. LAA-SRM was assessed using LGE-MRI images to quantify the extent of LAA-LGE. Patients were followed for arrhythmia recurrence after the ablation procedure. A total of 74 patients were included in the study, 68% were male, with a mean age of 72 years. Mean LAA-LGE extent was 9%. There were 37 arrhythmia recurrences (50%) observed over a mean follow-up period of 18 months. The recurrence rate was significantly higher (73.3% vs 37.5%; p = 0.045) in patients with LAA-LGE extent in the highest tier (T4) compared with the lowest tier (T1). LAA-LGE extent was independently associated with arrhythmia recurrence (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.054; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.008 to 1.103). In addition, there was an approximately fourfold increased risk of arrhythmia recurrence (adjusted HR 4.117, 95% CI 1.260 to 13.459) in patients with advanced LAA-SRM (T4 vs T1). In conclusion, the extent of LAA-SRM identified by LGE-MRI is associated with arrhythmia recurrence after AF ablation.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 6. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 03 April 2018.
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#9,651,194
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#6,543
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#118,859
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#48
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Altmetric has tracked 34,517,649 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 71st percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 16,017 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 7.7. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 59% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 117 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 58% of its contemporaries.
