• Cheng-Hsueh Wu, Yu-Feng Hu, Chia-Yu Chou, Yenn-Jiang Lin, Shih-Lin Chang, Li-Wei Lo, Ta-Chuan Tuan, Cheng-Hung Li, Tze-Fan Chao, Fa-Po Chung, Jo-Nan Liao, and Shih-Ann Chen.
• Department of Critical Care Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
• Heart Rhythm. 2013 Jan 1; 10 (1): 10-5.

BackgroundAtrial fibrosis plays a role in the development of a vulnerable substrate for atrial fibrillation (AF). Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β(1) is related to the degree of atrial fibrosis and the recurrence of AF after surgical maze procedures. Whether TGF-β(1) is associated with the outcome after catheter ablation for AF remains unclear.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate whether plasma TGF-β(1) was an independent predictor of AF recurrence after catheter ablation.MethodsTwo hundred consecutive AF patients (154 with paroxysmal AF and 46 with nonparoxysmal AF) underwent catheter ablation. Their TGF-β(1) levels and clinical and echocardiographic data were collected before ablation.ResultsThirty patients (65%) with nonparoxysmal AF and 57 (37%) with paroxysmal AF had AF recurrence after catheter ablation. Among patients with nonparoxysmal AF, those experiencing recurrence had higher TGF-β(1) levels than did those who did not experience recurrence (34.63 ± 11.98 ng/mL vs 27.33 ± 9.81 ng/mL; P = .026). In patients with paroxysmal AF, recurrence was not associated with different TGF-β(1) levels. In patients with nonparoxysmal AF, TGF-β(1) levels and left atrial diameter (LAD) were independent predictors of AF recurrence after catheter ablation. Moreover, TGF-β(1) levels had an incremental value over LAD in predicting AF recurrence after catheter ablation (global χ(2) of LAD alone: 6.3; LAD and TGF-β(1) levels: 11.9; increment in global χ(2) = 5.6; P = .013). Patients with small LAD and low TGF-β(1) levels had the lowest AF recurrence rate at 11%.ConclusionTGF-β(1) level is an independent predictor of AF recurrence in patients with nonparoxysmal AF and might be useful for identifying those patients likely to have better outcomes after catheter ablation.Copyright © 2013 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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