CASTLE-AF study results show a 38 percent reduction in the composite of all-cause mortality and hospitalization for worsening heart failure, when heart failure patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are treated with catheter ablation.- Biotronik

Final results from the CASTLE-AF study show a 38 percent reduction in the composite of all-cause mortality and hospitalization for worsening heart failure, when heart failure patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are treated with catheter ablation, compared to pharmacological therapy recommended by current guidelines. The outcomes were presented at a Late-Breaking Clinical Trials Hot Line session during the European Society of Cardiology�s ESC Congress 2017 in Barcelona.

The study was led by Dr. Nassir Marrouche, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, US and Dr. Johannes Brachmann, Coburg Clinic, Germany and sponsored by Biotronik. CASTLE-AF (Catheter Ablation versus Conventional Treatment in Patients with Left Ventricular Dysfunction and Atrial Fibrillation) is the world�s largest randomized clinical study on the efficacy of catheter ablation for AF in ICD or CRT-D patients suffering from heart failure. The study enrolled 398 patients in 33 sites across Europe, Australia and the US between 2008 and 2016. It is the first catheter ablation study to measure the primary composite outcome of mortality and morbidity with a mean follow-up of more than three years.

In addition to achieving a significant reduction in the primary composite outcome, the study showed that AF ablation significantly reduced both of the components of the primary outcome, with a 47 percent reduction in mortality and a 44 percent decrease in hospitalization for worsening heart failure.