Catheter Ablation for the Cure of Atrial Fibrillation Study CACAF Study Catheter Ablation for the Cure of Atrial Fibrillation Study Presented at American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions 2005 Presented by Dr. Emanuele Bertaglia

CACAF Study 137 patients with paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation intolerant to or who have already failed ≥2 antiarrhythmic drugs. First atrial fibrillation diagnosis at least 6 months prior to enrollment. Randomized Catheter Ablation and Antiarrhythmic Drugs n=68 Antiarrhythmic Drugs n=69 Endpoint: Total absence of atrial tachyarrhythmia recurrence during 12 month follow-up Presented at ACC Scientific Sessions 2005

CACAF Study At Least 1 AF Recurrence The primary endpoint of atrial arrhythmia free survival was higher in the ablation group compared with the control group (p<0.001), with 44% of the ablation group and 91% of the control group having at least 1 AF recurrence. Procedure duration was 193 minutes in the ablation group, with fluoroscopy time of 25 minutes. All patients in the ablation group had right isthmus block and 30% had left isthmus block. Major complications were similar in the two treatment groups (5.9% for ablation group and 5.8% for control group). p<0.001 Presented at ACC Scientific Sessions 2005

CACAF Study: Summary Among patients with paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation who have already failed antiarrhythmic drugs, use of catheter ablation was associated with a reduction in atrial fibrillation recurrence at 1 year compared with antiarrhythmic drug therapy alone. Prior studies of ablation in atrial fibrillation have been primarily non-randomized or single center, and success has been defined only in terms of symptom relief. The present study is the first multicenter, randomized trial to show a benefit of preventing atrial fibrillation recurrence with a single session of catheter ablation. Presented at ACC Scientific Sessions 2005