Cryoballoon ablation of pulmonary veins for persistent atrial fibrillation: Results from the multicenter STOP Persistent AF trial

BACKGROUND Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is the cornerstone of catheter ablation to treat patients with symptomatic drug-refractory atrial fibrillation (AF). OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of PVI using the cryoballoon catheter to treat patients with persistent AF. METHODS STOP Persistent AF (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03012841) was a prospective, multicenter, single-arm, Food and Drug Administration-regulated trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of PVI-only cryoballoon ablation for drug-refractory persistent AF (continuous episodes <6 months). The primary efficacy endpoint was 12-month freedom from >= 30 seconds of AF, atrial flutter (AFL), or atrial tachycardia (AT) after a 90-day blanking period. The prespecified performance goals were set at >40% and <13% for the primary efficacy and safety endpoints, respectively. Secondary endpoints assessed quality of life using the AFEQT (Atrial Fibrillation Effect on Quality of Life) and SF (Short Form)-12 questionnaires. RESULTS Of 186 total enrollments, 165 subjects (70% male; age 65 +/- 9 years; left atrial diameter 4.2 +/- 0.6 cm; body mass index 31 +/- 6) were treated at 25 sites in the United States, Canada, and Japan. Total procedural, left atrial dwell, and fluoroscopy times were 121 +/- 46 minutes, 102 +/- 41 minutes, and 19 +/- 16 minutes, respectively. At 12 months, the primary efficacy endpoint was 54.8% (95% confidence [CI] 46.7%-62.1%) freedom from AF, AFL, or AT. There was 1 primary safety event, translating to a rate of 0.6% (95% CI 0.1%-4.4%). AFEQT and SF-12 assessments demonstrated significant improvements from baseline to 12 months postablation (P <.001). CONCLUSION The STOP Persistent AF trial demonstrated cryoballoon ablation to be safe and effective in treating patients with drug-refractory persistent AF characterized by continuous AF episodes <6 months.