RESUMEN
At the beginning of the 21st century, approximately 2.3 million US adults had atrial fibrillation (AF), and there has been a 60% increase in hospital admissions for AF. Given that the expectancy is a continuous increase in incidence, it portends a severe healthcare problem. Considerable evidence supports the immune system and inflammatory response in cardiac tissue, and circulatory processes are involved in the physiopathology of AF. In this regard, finding novel inflammatory biomarkers that predict AF recurrence after catheter ablation (CA) is a prime importance global healthcare problem. Many inflammatory biomarkers and natriuretic peptides came out and were shown to have predictive capabilities for AF recurrence in patients undergoing CA. In this regard, some studies have shown that red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is associated with the risk of incident AF. This review aimed to provide an update on the evidence of the RDW as a biomarker of red cell dysfunction and its association with high systemic inflammation, and with the risk of incident AF. Through the literature review, we will highlight the most relevant studies of the RDW related to AF recurrence after CA. Many studies demonstrated that RDW is associated with all cause-mortality, heart failure, cardiovascular disease, and AF, probably because RDW is a biomarker of red blood cell dysfunction associated with high systemic inflammation, reflecting an advanced heart disease with prognostic implications in heart failure and cardiovascular disease. Thus, suggesting that could be a potential predictor for AF recurrence after CA. Moreover, the RDW is a parameter included in routine full blood count, which is low-cost, quick, and easy to obtain. We provided an update on the evidence of the most relevant studies of the RDW related to AF recurrence after CA, as well as the mechanism of the high RDW and its association with high systemic inflammation and prognostic marker in cardiovascular disease and heart failure.
RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: This report presents the findings of the 2014 Spanish Catheter Ablation Registry. METHODS: For data collection, each center was allowed to choose freely between 2 systems: retrospective, requiring the completion of a standardized questionnaire, and prospective, involving reporting to a central database. RESULTS: Data were collected from 85 centers. A total of 12 871 ablation procedures were performed, for a mean of 149.5±103 procedures per center. The ablation targets most frequently treated were atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (n=3026; 23.5%), cavotricuspid isthmus (n=2833; 22.0%), and atrial fibrillation (n=2498; 19.4%). The number of ablation procedures for ventricular arrhythmias was similar to that of 2013, but there was a slight increase in the treatment of all the ventricular substrates, especially those associated with idiopathic ventricular tachycardia and scarring following myocardial infarction. The overall success rate was 95%, the rate of major complications was 1.3%, and the mortality rate was 0.02%. CONCLUSIONS: The 2014 registry shows that the number of ablation procedures performed continued its upward trend and that, overall, the success rate was high and the number of complications low. Ablation of complex conditions continued to increase.