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Sponsored by: |
Biotronik GmbH & Co. KG |
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Information provided by: | Biotronik GmbH & Co. KG |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT00643188 |
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice. The incidence and prevalence of AF increase exponentially with increasing age and AF is associated with higher mortality, more frequent hospitalization, and lower quality of life. Furthermore, AF is often associated with heart failure. The majority of AF is initiated by ectopic foci found primarily in the pulmonary veins. It was shown that catheter ablation of those veins could eliminate episodes of AF. In patients with heart failure, catheter ablation could improve cardiac function, symptoms and qualitiy of life. It remains still unknown wether AF ablation is more effective than conventional treatment in termns of mortality and morbidity.
Condition | Intervention | Phase |
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Atrial Fibrillation Heart Failure |
Procedure: Radiofrequency ablation Other: Conventional treatment |
Phase IV |
Study Type: | Interventional |
Study Design: | Treatment, Randomized, Open Label, Parallel Assignment, Efficacy Study |
Official Title: | Catheter Ablation Versus Standard Conventional Treatment in Patients With Left Ventricular Dysfunction and Atrial Fibrillation |
Estimated Enrollment: | 420 |
Study Start Date: | January 2008 |
Estimated Study Completion Date: | January 2013 |
Estimated Primary Completion Date: | January 2013 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure) |
Arms | Assigned Interventions |
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1: Experimental
Radiofrequency ablation of atrial fibrillation
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Procedure: Radiofrequency ablation
Radiofrequency ablation of atrial fibrillation
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2: Active Comparator
Conventional treatment according to the respective current guidelines
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Other: Conventional treatment
The best medical treatment according to the ACC/AHA 2005 Guideline Update for the Diagnosis and Management of Chronic Heart Failure in the Adult and the ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 Guidelines for Management of Patients with Atrial Fibrillation.
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Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice; its incidence and prevalence increase exponentially with increasing age and it is associated with increased mortality, more frequent hospitalization, and decreased quality of life.
An initial approach to the cure of patients suffering from AF was surgical intervention with the Maze procedure, which involved the creation of linear lesions in the atria to break the re-entrant wavefronts responsible for maintenance of AF. Subsequently, less invasive procedures have been developed to achieve the same results. One of them is catheter based radiofrequency ablation, in which a catheter is placed in the heart percutaneously, followed by application of electrical energy to the target regions, thereby creating a permanent lesion.
The origin of AF is often localized in the pulmonary veins (PVs); therefore one common approach is to ablate them in order to electrically isolate them from the left atrium (LA). Several strategies have been developed, such as linear, segmental, circumferential, and double-lasso.
Additionally, other anatomical regions such as the right atrium (RA), superior vena cava (SVC), and coronary sinus (CS) can be ablated in order to eliminate non-PV drivers of AF.
Heart failure (HF) is frequently a chronic and lethal condition, causing substantial morbidity and, after initial diagnosis, results in mortality rates which come close to or exceed those of many malignancies.
Both AF and HF have a significant impact on the health care expenditures. The two diseases often coexist, there is a complex interaction between them: many of the processes that predispose to HF, such as hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, and valvular heart disease, are also risk factors for the development of AF. Similarly, many of the echocardiographic findings that are common in patients with HF, including LA enlargement, increased left ventricular (LV) wall thickness, and reduced LV fractional shortening, predispose patients in the development of AF.
In small groups of patients suffering from HF and AF, radiofrequency ablation has been performed; the restoration of sinus rhythm resulted in the improvement of quality of life, exercise performance, and cardiac parameters like ejection fraction and fractional shortening. It is still unknown if such therapy is also effective in reducing mortality and morbidity.
CASTLE-AF is a prospective, unblinded, randomized, multi-center study whose aim is to compare the effect of radiofrequency catheter-based ablation on mortality and morbidity with that of conventional treatment in HF subjects with AF. About 420 patients with LV dysfunction (ejection fraction ≤ 35%) and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class ≥ II, already implanted with a dual chamber implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) with Home Monitoring® capabilities, will be enrolled and randomized 1:1 to undergo either AF ablation or standard treatment as indicated in the ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 guidelines for the management of patients with AF. In addition to planned and unplanned visits, the ablated patients will be constantly monitored remotely via Home Monitoring®, in order to detect any recurrences of AF episodes, even if non-symptomatic or short in duration, during an observational period of minimum 3 years for each patient.
Ages Eligible for Study: | 18 Years and older |
Genders Eligible for Study: | Both |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
Contact: Kuno Muench | +49-9131-8924-7827 | kuno.muench@biotronik.com |
Contact: Jochen Proff | +49-9131-8924-7810 | jochen.proff@biotronik.com |
Study Chair: | Johannes Brachmann, Prof. Dr. | Klinikum Coburg, Germany |
Study Chair: | Nassir F. Marrouche, Dr. | Division of Cardiology, University of Utah Health Sciences Cente, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
Responsible Party: | Klinikum Coburg, Germany ( Professor Dr. Johannes Brachmann ) |
Study ID Numbers: | EP020 |
Study First Received: | February 22, 2008 |
Last Updated: | June 6, 2008 |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT00643188 |
Health Authority: | Germany: Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices |
Atrial fibrillation Ablation Heart failure Home Monitoring |
Ventricular Dysfunction Heart Failure Heart Diseases |
Ventricular Dysfunction, Left Atrial Fibrillation Arrhythmias, Cardiac |
Pathologic Processes Cardiovascular Diseases |