Gender differences in patients referred for atrial fibrillation management to a tertiary center

Roten, Laurent; Rimoldi, Stefano F; Schwick, Nicola; Sakata, Takao; Heimgartner, Chris; Fuhrer, Juerg; Delacrétaz, Etienne; Tanner, Hildegard (2009). Gender differences in patients referred for atrial fibrillation management to a tertiary center. PACE - Pacing and clinical electrophysiology, 32(5), pp. 622-6. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Blackwell 10.1111/j.1540-8159.2009.02335.x

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BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation is less frequently performed in women than in men. Although the prevalence of AF is slightly higher in men, this does not fully account for the lower number of AF ablations performed in women. This study sought to examine the effect of gender on referral for AF and subsequent AF management. METHODS: Consecutive patients referred to our tertiary arrhythmia outpatient clinic for AF management were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Of 264 patients referred, only 27% were women. Women were older than men (63 +/- 9 vs 58 +/- 11 years, P = 0.002), more often had paroxysmal AF (78% vs 63% in men, P = 0.022), and women more frequently complained about palpitations (71% vs 49%, P = 0.002). In addition, they had more often experienced amiodarone side effects than men (56% vs 36%, P = 0.046). In this referred population, there was no difference in the proportion of women and men undergoing AF ablation immediately following the initial evaluation (21% vs 25%, P = ns), at any time during the follow-up (38% vs 44%, P = ns), and there was no difference in the proportion of patients undergoing atrioventricular node ablation in both sexes (6% of women vs 3% of men, P = ns). CONCLUSIONS: There is an important difference in the proportion of men and women referred for management of AF in a specialized outpatient arrhythmia clinic, with women being referred three times less often than men. However, there is no gender-related difference in the subsequent treatment decisions. These findings emphasize the importance of focusing on management of symptomatic AF in women.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Cardiovascular Disorders (DHGE) > Clinic of Cardiology
UniBE Contributor:	Roten, Laurent, Rimoldi, Stefano, Schwick, Nicola Gillian, Fuhrer, Jürg (A), Delacrétaz, Etienne, Tanner, Hildegard
Subjects:	600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health
ISSN:	0147-8389
ISBN:	19422583
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
Submitter:	Factscience Import
Date Deposited:	04 Oct 2013 15:09
Last Modified:	29 Mar 2023 23:33
Publisher DOI:	10.1111/j.1540-8159.2009.02335.x
PubMed ID:	19422583
Web of Science ID:	000266550700011
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/30223 (FactScience: 191506)