Skip Navigation

Europace 2003 5(4):351-355; doi:10.1016/S1099-5129(03)00089-8
© 2003 by European Society of Cardiology
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (11)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Berkowitsch, A.
Right arrow Articles by Pitschner, H. F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Berkowitsch, A.
Right arrow Articles by Pitschner, H. F.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Comparison of generic health survey SF-36 and arrhythmia related symptom severity check list in relation to post-therapy AF recurrence

A. Berkowitsch, T. Neumann, K. Kurzidim, C. Reiner, M. Kuniss, G. Siemon, J. Sperzel and H. F. Pitschner

Kerckhoff-Clinic, Department of Cardiology Bad Nauheim, Germany

AIM: The effect of applied therapy on quality of life (QoL) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) was investigated in recent studies. However, no information on clinical relevance of QoL assessing instruments in relation to post-ablation recurrence of AF is currently available. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical relevance of SF-36 and Arrhythmia Related Symptom Severity Check List (SSCL) to post-procedure AF recurrences in patients with paroxysmal AF undergoing pulmonary vein isolation (PVI).

METHODS AND RESULTS: Sixty consecutive patients with AF were enroled in the study. The QoL was measured using SF-36 scale and SSCL. The questionnaires were administered at baseline then 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after the procedure. In order to define statistical power in relation to AF recurrence the scores were dichotomized. Positive and negative predictive accuracy (PPA, NPA) and test efficiency (sum of PPA and NPA) were calculated. Twenty-one out of 60 patients experienced a total of 66 recurrences of AF during follow-up. The parameters of SF-36 provided maximum test efficiency of 1.36, whereas the test efficiency of SSCL was 1.79.

CONCLUSION: We conclude that SSCL is more specific instrument for a measurement of PVI success or failure.

Key Words: Atrial fibrillation, catheter ablation, quality of life, pulmonary vein isolation

Correspondence: Alexander Berkowitsch, PhD, Kerckhoff-Clinic, Department of Cardiology, Benekestraße 2-8, 61231 Bad Nauheim, Germany. Tel.: +49-6032-996-2279; Fax: +49-6032-996-2236. E-mail: alexander.berkowitsch{at}kerckhoff.med.uni-giessen.de


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 HeartHome page
C McKenna, S Palmer, M Rodgers, D Chambers, N Hawkins, S Golder, S Van Hout, C Pepper, D Todd, and N Woolacott
Cost-effectiveness of radiofrequency catheter ablation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation in the United Kingdom
Heart, April 1, 2009; 95(7): 542 - 549.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Am Coll CardiolHome page
R. H. Falk
Atrial Fibrillation or Sinus Rhythm?: Controversy and Contradiction in Quality of Life Outcomes
J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., August 15, 2006; 48(4): 731 - 733.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 CirculationHome page
G. Hindricks, C. Piorkowski, H. Tanner, R. Kobza, J.-H. Gerds-Li, C. Carbucicchio, and H. Kottkamp
Perception of Atrial Fibrillation Before and After Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation: Relevance of Asymptomatic Arrhythmia Recurrence
Circulation, July 19, 2005; 112(3): 307 - 313.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 EuropaceHome page
S.-H. Lee and S.-A. Chen
How important is the assessment of quality of life after pulmonary vein isolation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation?
Europace, January 1, 2003; 5(4): 357 - 359.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.