Background and objective: Treating recurrent atrial arrhythmias after persistent atrial fibrillation (PeAF) ablation is often challenging. This single-center, prospective study aimed to observe the effectiveness of different combinations of oral antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) in reverting to sinus rhythm (SR) in patients with recurrent atrial arrhythmias after PeAF ablation.
Methods: Forty-five patients who experienced recurrent atrial arrhythmias after PeAF ablation were included. Based on their medication regimens, patients were divided into two groups, with the study group being a triple-drug group (digoxin combined with amiodarone/ propafenone and β-blocker), and the control group being a non-triple-drug group.
Results: The rate of reversion to SR was significantly higher in the study group (n = 29) than in the control group (n = 16) at 3 weeks (34.48% vs. 0%, p < 0.01) and 1 month (44.84% vs. 6.25%, p = 0.02) after initiating AADs. No patients with asymptomatic bradycardia were observed in either group.
Conclusions: For patients with recurrent atrial arrhythmias after PeAF ablation, a regimen of low-dose digoxin combined with amiodarone/propafenone and β-blocker may effectively improve short-term reversion rates.
Keywords: ablation; antiarrhythmic drugs; persistent atrial fibrillation; recurrence; sinus rhythm.
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