{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,10]],"date-time":"2026-06-10T18:12:57Z","timestamp":1781115177035,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,9]],"date-time":"2024-02-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1707436800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diseases"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Catheter ablation (CA) for atrial fibrillation (AF) is superior to antiarrhythmic drugs in maintaining sinus rhythm. Novel evidence suggests that increasing the time between the first diagnosis of AF and ablation, or diagnosis-to-ablation time (DAT), is a predictor for AF recurrence post-ablation. Purpose: Our primary objective was to investigate the relationship between DAT and AF recurrence after a first ablation. Methods: Patients with AF who underwent CA in our center were enrolled consecutively, and a retrospective analysis was performed. DAT was treated as a continuous variable and reported as a median for the group with recurrence and the group without recurrence. DAT was also considered as a categorical variable and patients were stratified into three categories: DAT &lt; 1 year, DAT &lt; 2 years, and DAT &lt; 4 years. Results: The cohort included 107 patients, with a mean age of 54.3 \u00b1 11.7 years. Mean DAT was significantly longer in those with AF recurrence: 4.9(3.06) years versus 3.99(3.5) (p = 0.04). The Kaplan\u2013Meier curve revealed a higher likelihood of AF-free status over time for patients with DAT &lt; 2 years compared to those with DAT &gt; 2 years (p = 0.04). Cox multivariate analysis indicated that left atrial volume index (LAVI), obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), and DAT &gt; 2 years were independently associated with AF recurrence after a single AF ablation procedure (p = 0.007, p = 0.02, and p = 0.03, respectively). Conclusion: A shorter duration between the first AF diagnosis and AF ablation is associated with an increased likelihood of procedural success after a single AF ablation procedure.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diseases12020038","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,9]],"date-time":"2024-02-09T11:42:05Z","timestamp":1707478925000},"page":"38","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["The Association between Diagnosis-to-Ablation Time and the Recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation: A Retrospective Cohort Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Alexandrina","family":"Nastas\u0103","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiology Department, Elias University Emergency Hospital, 011461 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mohamad Hussam","family":"Sahloul","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, \u201cCarol Davila\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eroii Sanitari Bvd. 8, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Corneliu","family":"Iorgulescu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Emergency Hospital, 014461 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"\u0218tefan","family":"Bogdan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiology Department, Elias University Emergency Hospital, 011461 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, \u201cCarol Davila\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eroii Sanitari Bvd. 8, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2183-5771","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alina","family":"Sc\u0103rl\u0103tescu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Emergency Hospital, 014461 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Steliana","family":"Paja","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Emergency Hospital, 014461 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adelina","family":"Pupaza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Emergency Hospital, 014461 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raluca","family":"Mitran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Emergency Hospital, 014461 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Viviana","family":"Gondos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Electronics and Informatics, Polytechnic University of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7163-8528","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Radu Gabriel","family":"V\u0103t\u0103\u0219escu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, \u201cCarol Davila\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Eroii Sanitari Bvd. 8, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Clinical Emergency Hospital, 014461 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"119","DOI":"10.1161\/CIRCULATIONAHA.105.595140","article-title":"Secular trends in incidence of atrial fibrillation in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1980 to 2000, and implications on the projections for future prevalence","volume":"114","author":"Miyasaka","year":"2006","journal-title":"Circulation"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"154","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(14)61774-8","article-title":"50 year trends in atrial fibrillation prevalence, incidence, risk factors, and mortality in the Framingham Heart Study: A cohort study","volume":"386","author":"Schnabel","year":"2015","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"574","DOI":"10.1093\/ehjqcco\/qcaa061","article-title":"Global, regional, and national prevalence, incidence, mortality, and risk factors for atrial fibrillation, 1990\u20132017: Results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017","volume":"7","author":"Dai","year":"2020","journal-title":"Eur. 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