{"title":"Prediction of the impact of anxiety on atrial fibrillation recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation based on heart rate variability.","authors":"Yufei Ren, Hua Zhang, Yingji Tian","doi":"10.3389/fsurg.2025.1653123","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) can significantly improve the prognosis of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF); however, the postoperative recurrence rate remains high. Therefore, identifying accurate predictors of recurrence after RFCA holds important clinical value.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective study included 180 patients with AF who underwent RFCA. Patients were grouped by one-year recurrence status. Univariate analysis was conducted to compare demographic and clinical characteristics between the two groups. Cox proportional hazards models and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to assess the impact of heart rate variability (HRV), anxiety, and their interaction on recurrence. Predictive performance was evaluated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Stratified analyses were performed to explore whether the effect of anxiety on recurrence varied by HRV levels.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with the non-recurrence group, the recurrence group had higher prevalence of persistent AF and heart failure, longer AF duration, and more severe left atrial structural burden (i.e., higher EFT, LAD, and LAVI values). Multivariate Cox analysis identified that both HRV and anxiety were independent risk factors for recurrence, and their interaction term also had significant predictive value (HR > 1, <i>P</i> < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients with low HRV and high anxiety had the lowest recurrence-free survival rate. ROC curve analysis revealed that the combined HRV-anxiety interaction model yielded an AUC of 0.745, indicating a certain predictive advantage over individual indicators. Stratified analysis further confirmed that the recurrence risk associated with high anxiety was more pronounced in the low HRV group.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>HRV and anxiety were identified as independent predictors of AF recurrence following RFCA, with a significant synergistic interaction observed between the two. Their combined assessment may enhance the accuracy of recurrence risk prediction and provide a foundation for the development of individualized intervention strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":12564,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Surgery","volume":"12 ","pages":"1653123"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12500613/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Frontiers in Surgery","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fsurg.2025.1653123","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"SURGERY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) can significantly improve the prognosis of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF); however, the postoperative recurrence rate remains high. Therefore, identifying accurate predictors of recurrence after RFCA holds important clinical value.
Methods: This retrospective study included 180 patients with AF who underwent RFCA. Patients were grouped by one-year recurrence status. Univariate analysis was conducted to compare demographic and clinical characteristics between the two groups. Cox proportional hazards models and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to assess the impact of heart rate variability (HRV), anxiety, and their interaction on recurrence. Predictive performance was evaluated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Stratified analyses were performed to explore whether the effect of anxiety on recurrence varied by HRV levels.
Results: Compared with the non-recurrence group, the recurrence group had higher prevalence of persistent AF and heart failure, longer AF duration, and more severe left atrial structural burden (i.e., higher EFT, LAD, and LAVI values). Multivariate Cox analysis identified that both HRV and anxiety were independent risk factors for recurrence, and their interaction term also had significant predictive value (HR > 1, P < 0.05). Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients with low HRV and high anxiety had the lowest recurrence-free survival rate. ROC curve analysis revealed that the combined HRV-anxiety interaction model yielded an AUC of 0.745, indicating a certain predictive advantage over individual indicators. Stratified analysis further confirmed that the recurrence risk associated with high anxiety was more pronounced in the low HRV group.
Conclusion: HRV and anxiety were identified as independent predictors of AF recurrence following RFCA, with a significant synergistic interaction observed between the two. Their combined assessment may enhance the accuracy of recurrence risk prediction and provide a foundation for the development of individualized intervention strategies.
期刊介绍:
Evidence of surgical interventions go back to prehistoric times. Since then, the field of surgery has developed into a complex array of specialties and procedures, particularly with the advent of microsurgery, lasers and minimally invasive techniques. The advanced skills now required from surgeons has led to ever increasing specialization, though these still share important fundamental principles.
Frontiers in Surgery is the umbrella journal representing the publication interests of all surgical specialties. It is divided into several “Specialty Sections” listed below. All these sections have their own Specialty Chief Editor, Editorial Board and homepage, but all articles carry the citation Frontiers in Surgery.
Frontiers in Surgery calls upon medical professionals and scientists from all surgical specialties to publish their experimental and clinical studies in this journal. By assembling all surgical specialties, which nonetheless retain their independence, under the common umbrella of Frontiers in Surgery, a powerful publication venue is created. Since there is often overlap and common ground between the different surgical specialties, assembly of all surgical disciplines into a single journal will foster a collaborative dialogue amongst the surgical community. This means that publications, which are also of interest to other surgical specialties, will reach a wider audience and have greater impact.
The aim of this multidisciplinary journal is to create a discussion and knowledge platform of advances and research findings in surgical practice today to continuously improve clinical management of patients and foster innovation in this field.