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Study of Ablation Versus antiaRrhythmic Drugs in Persistent Atrial Fibrillation

Study of Ablation Versus antiaRrhythmic Drugs in Persistent Atrial Fibrillation

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT00863213
Acronym
SARA
Enrollment
152
Registered
2009-03-17
Start date
2009-03-31
Completion date
2012-12-31
Last updated
2013-04-26

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Atrial Fibrillation

Keywords

Catheter Ablation, Radiofrequency, Atrial fibrillation, Antiarrhythmic Drugs

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to compare the effectivity and safety of atrial fibrillation ablation, in comparison to antiarrhythmic drug therapy in patients with refractory, persistent atrial fibrillation.

Interventions

PROCEDUREAtrial fibrillation ablation

Atrial fibrillation ablation with radiofrequency, guided by 3D navigation map. Either 4mm or cooled tip-catheters will be used. It will include, at least, pulmonary veins isolation; all other radiofrequency lines, including roof and mitral isthmus line, and complex fractioned electrograms ablation will be performed according to each Hospital protocol. Radiofrequency lines block will be tested.

Usual drug therapy for atrial fibrillation. In patients with structural heart disease, amiodarone is recommended, while flecainide plus diltiazem or beta-blockers are encouraged in patients without structural heart diseases.

Sponsors

Medtronic
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
Fundacio Clinic Barcelona
CollaboratorOTHER
Biosense Webster, Inc.
CollaboratorINDUSTRY
Hospital Clinic of Barcelona
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (more than 7 days, or less than 7 days needing pharmacologic or electric cardioversion)

Exclusion criteria

* Hypo or hyperthyroidism * Persistent atrial fibrillation lasting more than 1 year or non-defined duration * Hypertrophic myocardiopathy * Implantable defibrillation or pacemaker implanted * Moderate or severe mitral valve disease or mitral prosthetic valve * Ejection fraction less than 30% * Left atrial anteroposterior diameter more than 50 mm. * Previous atrial fibrillation ablation * Contraindication to anticoagulation * Left atrium thrombus * Current infective disease or sepsis * Pregnant women * Current unstable angor * Acute myocardial infarction in last 3 months * Atrial fibrillation secondary to ionic disturbance, thyroids disease or secondary to any other reversible or non cardiovascular disease * Reduced expectancy of life (less than 12 months) * Patient participating in another clinical study that investigates a drug or device * Psychologically unstable patient or denies to give informed consent * Any cause that contraindicate ablation procedure or antiarrhythmic drug

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Freedom from atrial arrhythmias, lasting more than 24 hours or requiring cardioversion.1-year follow-up

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
Decrease in atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter related hospital admissions1-year follow-up
Improve in quality of life measured with standard questionary for Atrial Fibrillation: AF-QoL.1-year follow-up
Freedom from atrial arrhythmias (lasting more than 30 seconds) without antiarrhythmic drugs.1-year follow-up
Change in need of cardioversionsFrom 3rd to 12th months
Decrease in frequency and duration of atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter recurrences.1-year follow-up
Need of crossover to the other arm of the study (only when primary end point has been reached)1-year follow-up
Need of a new intervention or ablation during blanking periodUntil 3rd month
Detection of asymptomatic episodes by Reveal XT1-year follow-up
Presence of any complications in the acute phase or during follow-up1-year follow-up
Need of atrio-ventricular node ablation1-year follow-up

Countries

Spain

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 10, 2026