TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of catheter ablation versus medical therapy on cognitive function in atrial fibrillation
T2 - a systematic review
AU - Bodagh, Neil
AU - Yap, Reuben
AU - Kotadia, Irum
AU - Sim, Iain
AU - Bhalla, Ajay
AU - Somerville, Peter
AU - O’Neill, Mark
AU - Williams, Steven E.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the British Heart Foundation (PG/19/44/34368), the British Heart Foundation Centre for Research Excellence at the University of Edinburgh (RE/18/5/34216) and by core funding from the Wellcome/ESPRC Centre for Medical Engineering at King’s College London (WT203148/Z/16/Z). Dr Williams is supported by the British Heart Foundation (FS/20/26/34952).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/10
Y1 - 2022/10
N2 - Purpose: Atrial fibrillation is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment. It is unclear whether the restoration of sinus rhythm with catheter ablation may modify this risk. We conducted a systematic review of studies comparing cognitive outcomes following catheter ablation with medical therapy (rate and/or rhythm control) in atrial fibrillation. Methods: Searches were performed on the following databases from their inception to 17 October 2021: PubMed, OVID Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library. The inclusion criteria comprised studies comparing catheter ablation against medical therapy (rate and/or rhythm control in conjunction with anticoagulation where appropriate) which included cognitive assessment and/or a diagnosis of dementia as an outcome. Results: A total of 599 records were screened. Ten studies including 15,886 patients treated with catheter ablation and 42,684 patients treated with medical therapy were included. Studies which compared the impact of catheter ablation versus medical therapy on quantitative assessments of cognitive function yielded conflicting results. In studies, examining new onset dementia during follow-up, catheter ablation was associated with a lower risk of subsequent dementia diagnosis compared to medical therapy (hazard ratio: 0.60 (95% confidence interval 0.42–0.88, p < 0.05)). Conclusion: The accumulating evidence linking atrial fibrillation with cognitive impairment warrants the design of atrial fibrillation treatment strategies aimed at minimising cognitive decline. However, the impact of catheter ablation and atrial fibrillation medical therapy on cognitive decline is currently uncertain. Future studies investigating atrial fibrillation treatment strategies should include cognitive outcomes as important clinical endpoints.
AB - Purpose: Atrial fibrillation is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment. It is unclear whether the restoration of sinus rhythm with catheter ablation may modify this risk. We conducted a systematic review of studies comparing cognitive outcomes following catheter ablation with medical therapy (rate and/or rhythm control) in atrial fibrillation. Methods: Searches were performed on the following databases from their inception to 17 October 2021: PubMed, OVID Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library. The inclusion criteria comprised studies comparing catheter ablation against medical therapy (rate and/or rhythm control in conjunction with anticoagulation where appropriate) which included cognitive assessment and/or a diagnosis of dementia as an outcome. Results: A total of 599 records were screened. Ten studies including 15,886 patients treated with catheter ablation and 42,684 patients treated with medical therapy were included. Studies which compared the impact of catheter ablation versus medical therapy on quantitative assessments of cognitive function yielded conflicting results. In studies, examining new onset dementia during follow-up, catheter ablation was associated with a lower risk of subsequent dementia diagnosis compared to medical therapy (hazard ratio: 0.60 (95% confidence interval 0.42–0.88, p < 0.05)). Conclusion: The accumulating evidence linking atrial fibrillation with cognitive impairment warrants the design of atrial fibrillation treatment strategies aimed at minimising cognitive decline. However, the impact of catheter ablation and atrial fibrillation medical therapy on cognitive decline is currently uncertain. Future studies investigating atrial fibrillation treatment strategies should include cognitive outcomes as important clinical endpoints.
KW - Atrial fibrillation
KW - Catheter ablation
KW - Cognition
KW - Cognitive dysfunction
KW - Dementia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85127632053&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10840-022-01196-y
DO - 10.1007/s10840-022-01196-y
M3 - Review article
C2 - 35380337
AN - SCOPUS:85127632053
SN - 1383-875X
VL - 65
SP - 271
EP - 286
JO - Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing
JF - Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing
IS - 1
ER -