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Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Versus Atrioventricular Nodal Ablation with Conduction System Pacing in Heart Failure

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
Atrial Fibrillation, Persistent
Heart Failure
Interventions
Device: Conduction system pacing
Procedure: Atrial fibrillation ablation
Procedure: Atrioventricular nodal ablation
Registration Number
NCT06207383
Lead Sponsor
University Hospital, Geneva
Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate two treatment strategies in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation and heart failure, who are eligible for atrial fibrillation ablation. Patients will be randomized to either atrial fibrillation ablation or to implantation of a pacemaker with conduction system pacing followed by atrioventricular node ablation. The effect of treatment allocation on total mortality, cardiovascular hospitalization and heart failure hospitalization will be compared.

Detailed Description

Aim To compare clinical outcome with a strategy of conduction system pacing and atrioventricular nodal ablation (CSP+AVNA), versus atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation by pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF), to guide future management of these patients.

Hypotheses

1. CSP+AVNA is superior to AF ablation in patients with persistent AF and HF for reducing mortality and cardiovascular hospitalization.

2. CSP+AVNA is non-inferior to AF ablation in patients with persistent AF for reducing mortality and heart failure hospitalization.

Design Investigator-initiated, prospective randomized, controlled, open-label, multicentre study conducted in \~ 30 centres from 14 countries in Europe with expertise in CSP and AF ablation.

Sample size 220 patients

Study duration 4 years

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
220
Inclusion Criteria

(i) Persistent AF with symptomatic HF despite medical therapy, considered to be suitable for AF ablation, with at most one previous PVI procedure.

(ii) At least one prior hospital admission, or emergency room / HF clinic visit for HF in the past 2 years, with NT-pro-BNP > 1000 pg/ml or BNP > 250 pg/ml measured at any timepoint during this interval.

(iii) Previous or current rate or rhythm control drug therapy. (iv) Age > 60 years

Exclusion Criteria

(i) NYHA Class IV and systolic blood pressure ≤80 mmHg despite optimized therapy.

(ii) Life expectancy < 2 years. (iii) Need for major surgical intervention. (iv) Myocardial infarction, stroke or PCI within the previous 3 months. (v) Previously implanted or planned implantation of CRT device or pacemaker. Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation without a pacing indication is acceptable.

(vi) Participation in another controlled trial. (vii) Inability to sign and informed consent form.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Conduction system pacing + atrioventricular nodal ablationAtrioventricular nodal ablationConduction system pacing (either His bundle pacing or left bundle branch area pacing) with catheter ablation of the atrioventricular node.
Conduction system pacing + atrioventricular nodal ablationConduction system pacingConduction system pacing (either His bundle pacing or left bundle branch area pacing) with catheter ablation of the atrioventricular node.
Atrial fibrillation ablationAtrial fibrillation ablationCatheter ablation of atrial fibrillation using technique at the investigator's discretion but including pulmonary vein isolation as an endpoint.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Non-inferiority endpoint1-4 years

Incidence of mortality and heart failure hospitalization in each arm

Superiority endpoint1-4 years

Incidence of mortality and cardiovascular hospitalization in each arm

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
NYHA class1-4 years

New York Heart Association classification of heart failure symptoms

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis1-4 years

Evaluation of clinical outcomes and associated costs between between the study arms. This evaluation will be conducted from a societal perspective, capturing both the direct medical costs and the broader societal impacts of the interventions.

Left ventricular ejection fraction1 year

Measurement using echocardiography

Minnesota Living with Heart Failure quality of life measure1 year

The questionnaire is comprised of 21 questions around physical, emotional and socioeconomic ways heart failure can adversely affect a patient's life. The patient marks a 0-5 scale to indicate the extent to which each itemized adversity of heart failure has prevented the patient from living as they wanted to live during the past 4 weeks. The questionnaire is scored by summation of all 21 responses (the higher the score, the worse the quality of life).

Complications1-4 years

Peri-procedural and long-term

Trial Locations

Locations (18)

Hôpital Charles Nicolle

🇫🇷

Rouen, France

Bologna University Hospital

🇮🇹

Bologna, Italy

St Elisabeth sister's Hospital

🇦🇹

Graz, Austria

Antwerp University Hospital

🇧🇪

Antwerp, Belgium

Acibadem City Clinic Tokuda University Hospital

🇧🇬

Sofia, Bulgaria

University Hospital, Kralovske Vinohrady

🇨🇿

Praha, Czech Republic

Heart and Lung Center, University of Helsinki

🇫🇮

Helsinki, Finland

Herzzentrum Leipzig

🇩🇪

Leipzig, Germany

Semmelweis University

🇭🇺

Budapest, Hungary

University Hospital Maastricht

🇳🇱

Maastricht, Netherlands

Jagiellonian University

🇵🇱

Kraków, Poland

Hospital Universitario La Paz

🇪🇸

Madrid, Spain

Hospital Universitario y Politecnico La Fe

🇪🇸

Madrid, Spain

University Hospital Geneva

🇨🇭

Geneva, GE, Switzerland

University Hospital of Basel

🇨🇭

Basel, Switzerland

Inselspital

🇨🇭

Bern, Switzerland

University Hospital of Zurich

🇨🇭

Zurich, Switzerland

National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London

🇬🇧

London, United Kingdom

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