The efficacy and safety of radiofrequency ablation on the platelet activation and the inflammatory response in elderly atrial fibrillation patients.

BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of arrhythmia. AF is more common in the elderly population than in the young population. Radiofrequency ablation (RA) is the treatment option for drug-naive AF; however, previous studies have focused on the young population. Therefore, it would be clinically valuable to compare the efficacy and safety of RA in both elderly and young patients with AF. OBJECTIVE This study intended to compare the efficacy and safety of RA in elderly and young patients with AF. METHODS Forty patients with drug-naive AF who underwent RA at our hospital were retrospectively evaluated, of whom 20 were < 65 years old (group 1) and 20 were ≥ 65 years old (group 2). The treatment efficacy was evaluated by comparing the durations of the surgical procedures, the postoperative platelet activation, and the inflammatory factor levels. RESULTS The total operation times for RA (160.64 ± 7.25 vs. 160.64 ± 7.25 min, P = 0.341) and the fluoroscopy times (40.82 ± 5.93 vs. 39.89 ± 6.35 min, P = 0.636) did not differ between the elderly (74.1 ± 6.7 years) and the young (54.6 ± 7.9 years) groups. The postoperative platelet activation levels (6.90% ± 0.64% vs. 6.90% ± 0.70%, P = 0.991), the P-selectin expression levels (4.5 ± 1.3 vs. 4.9 ± 1.3, P = 0.333) and the activated glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (0.5 ± 1.0 vs. 0.4 ± 1.1, P = 0.649), and the inflammatory factor levels (C-reactive protein: 26.45 ± 6.66 vs. 25.72 ± 7.78 mg/L, P = 0.750) were elevated in both groups but did not differ between the two groups. CONCLUSION RA is a safe and effective procedure in elderly and young patients with medically refractory AF.