4.2 Procedure-related ischemic complication
Procedure-related ischemic complication occurred in 17 patients: six patients had no permanent neurologic consequences and five patients had permanent neurologic symptoms which significantly limited their normal daily life. Mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 1.35 ± 1.12 and 14 patients were male. Eleven (64.7%) patients had non-paroxysmal AF and substrate modification in addition to pulmonary vein isolation was performed in 64.7% of patients. Characteristics of these 17 patients with procedure-related stroke are summarized in Table 2. Baseline characteristics of patients with and without procedure-related stroke are compared in Table 1. Patients with procedure-related ischemic complication had larger LA diameter (44.38 ± 5.44 vs. 41.18 ± 6.04 mm; p = 0.035), higher proportion of non-paroxysmal AF (64.7% vs. 40.8%; p = 0.046).
Distribution of patients who were treated with antiplatelets, warfarin, NOAC, or no antithrombotic agents before and after RFCA is depicted in Figure 1A, B. Type of antithrombotic medication did not affect the incidence of procedure-related ischemic complication (p = 0.261 for pre-RFCA and 0.810 for post-RFCA; Figure 2C, D).