Guidelines
Guidelines
2019 AHA/ACC/HRS Focused Update of the 2014 AHA/ACC/HRS Guideline for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation
- Continue to recommend OAC following catheter ablation, based on a patient’s stroke risk profile
2017 HRS/EHRA/ECAS/APHRS/SOLAECE Expert Consensus Statement on Catheter and Surgical Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation
- To date, no AF ablation trial has evaluated whether successful ablation obviates the need for long-term OAC
- Recurrences of AF are common, both early and late following AF ablation
- Asymptomatic AF is common, and is more common following AF ablation than prior to AF ablation.
2014 AHA/ACC/HRS Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Atrial Fibrillation
- Continuation of OAC post ablation should be based on a patient’s stroke risk profile and not on the perceived success or failure of the ablation.
- The CHA2DS2-VASc score is recommended to assess stroke risk. For patients with a CHA2DS2-VASc ≥ 2, OAC is recommended
Considerations
Consider the following questions when identifying candidates:
- What options do you recommend for your patients for stroke risk reduction post-atrial fibrillation ablation?
- Do your patients express concern about continuing long-term OACs post-ablation?
