{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,23]],"date-time":"2026-08-23T16:42:30Z","timestamp":1787503350571,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,18]],"date-time":"2024-09-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1726617600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The aim of this single-center retrospective study was to evaluate the long-term outcomes after the convergent procedure (CP) for treatment of AF. Methods: We analyzed the outcomes of patients that underwent CP from January 2009 until July 2020. A total of 119 patients with paroxysmal AF (23.5%), persistent AF (5.9%), or long-standing persistent AF (70.6%) that attended long-term follow-up were included. The outcomes were assessed 1 year after the CP and at long-term follow-up. At the 1-year follow-up, rhythm and AF burden were assessed for patients with an implantable loop recorder (61.2%). For others, rhythm was assessed by clinical presentation and 12-lead ECG. At long-term follow-up, patients with sinus rhythm (SR) or an unclear history were assessed with a 7-day Holter ECG monitor, and AF burden was determined. Long-term success was defined as freedom from AF\/atrial flutter (AFL) with SR on a 12-lead ECG and AF\/AFL burden &lt; 1% on the 7-day Holter ECG. Results: At 1-year follow-up, 91.4% of patients had SR and 76.1% of patients had AF\/AFL burden &lt; 1%. At long-term follow-up (8.3 \u00b1 2.8 years), 65.5% of patients had SR and 53.8% of patients had AF\/AFL burden &lt; 1% on the 7-day Holter ECG. Additional RFAs were performed in 32.8% of patients who had AF or AFL burden &lt; 1%. At long-term follow-up, age, body mass index, and left atrial volume index were associated with an increased risk of AF recurrence. Conclusions: CP resulted in high long-term probability of SR maintenance. During long-term follow-up, additional RFAs were required to maintain SR in a substantial number of patients.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm13185508","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,18]],"date-time":"2024-09-18T09:49:19Z","timestamp":1726652959000},"page":"5508","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Long-Term Outcomes after Convergent Procedure for Atrial Fibrillation"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Borut","family":"Ger\u0161ak","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-4622-5404","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Veronika","family":"Podlogar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiovascular Surgery Department, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6765-1527","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tine","family":"Proli\u010d Kalin\u0161ek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiovascular Surgery Department, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6379-9986","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Matev\u017e","family":"Jan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cardiovascular Surgery Department, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"639","DOI":"10.1038\/nrcardio.2014.118","article-title":"Global epidemiology of atrial fibrillation","volume":"11","author":"Rahman","year":"2014","journal-title":"Nat. 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