(Health Korea News / Changyong Lee) Research results have shown that cold balloon ablation, a surgical method that treats atrial fibrillation using balloons frozen at -89 degrees, is effective in alleviating atrial fibrillation symptoms.
The research team of Professor Oh Il-young of the Department of Cardiology at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital analyzed the long-term effects of cold balloon ablation on Korean patients with atrial fibrillation and obtained these results.
Atrial fibrillation is a type of arrhythmia in which abnormal electrical signals occur in various parts of the atrium, causing irregular heartbeat. Initially, it appears as ‘paroxysmal atrial fibrillation’ that appears briefly and then disappears repeatedly, but over time, it progresses to ‘persistent atrial fibrillation’ that does not disappear and lasts for a long time.
Cold balloon ablation, one of the methods to treat atrial fibrillation, is a procedure that blocks the abnormal electrical signals that cause atrial fibrillation by blocking the pulmonary vein entrance connected to the atrium with a balloon frozen at a temperature below -89 degrees Celsius, thereby restoring normal heart rhythm. . Although it is widely performed because the procedure time is relatively short and the complication rate is low, there has been a lack of research on the long-term effects of cold balloon ablation for patients in Asia.
The research team followed 299 Korean patients with atrial fibrillation (150 patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and 149 patients with persistent atrial fibrillation) registered in the ‘Cryo Global Registry’ for two years to determine atrial fibrillation recurrence rate, symptom improvement, and quality of life after cold balloon ablation. A study was conducted to analyze the degree of quality improvement and risk factors for recurrence.
The results of the study showed that 71.9% of patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and 49.3% of patients with persistent heart fibrillation maintained a stable condition without recurrence of atrial fibrillation for 2 years after cold balloon ablation. In particular, it was confirmed that symptoms due to atrial fibrillation were reduced after the procedure, and the overall quality of life of the patients was improved. Before the procedure, 75.5% of patients complained of symptoms such as heart palpitations, fatigue, and dizziness, but two years after the procedure, the proportion of patients with these symptoms decreased to 10.5%.
The research team cited the period from diagnosis of atrial fibrillation to the procedure and the size of the left atrium as factors affecting the effectiveness of cold balloon ablation. It was found that the longer the period from diagnosis of atrial fibrillation until cold balloon ablation was performed, the higher the risk of atrial fibrillation recurrence. This was analyzed to be because the longer atrial fibrillation persists, the structure of the heart is deformed and the risk of recurrence increases.
Additionally, it was confirmed that patients with larger left atria had a higher risk of recurrence after the procedure. The research team explains that this is because the larger the diameter of the left atrium, the more unstable the heart’s electrical signals become, increasing the risk of recurrence. Therefore, patients with a large left atrium require a more precise treatment plan.
Professor Oh said, “We expect that the results of this study will help establish a standardized atrial fibrillation treatment policy not only in Korea but also in the Asian region.” He added, “By taking the lead in developing customized treatments for atrial fibrillation patients, many patients will have better outcomes.” “We will do our best to ensure that you receive treatment,” he said.
The results of this study were recently published in ‘Korean Circulation Journal’, an international academic journal published by the Korean Heart Association.
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