Medicare beneficiaries undergoing concomitant surgical ablation have risk-adjusted median survival advantage<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
\n<\/b><\/p>\n
FRIDAY, June 13, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Medicare beneficiaries with preexisting atrial fibrillation undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) who undergo concomitant surgical ablation have a survival advantage, according to a study published online June 3 in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery<\/em>.<\/p>\n Justin M. Schaffer, M.D., from Baylor Scott & White – The Heart Hospital in Plano, Texas, and colleagues identified 87,699 Medicare beneficiaries with preexisting atrial fibrillation undergoing CABG, with or without concomitant surgical ablation, from 2008 to 2019. All-cause mortality and stroke incidence were assessed as separate end points. Overlap propensity score weighting adjusted for measured confounding variables.<\/p>\n Overall, 22.2 percent of the beneficiaries with atrial fibrillation undergoing CABG underwent concomitant surgical ablation. During CABG, 1,193, 1,834, and 652 surgeons infrequently, occasionally, and frequently performed ablation, respectively (<5 percent, \u22655 but <40 percent, and \u226540 percent, respectively). The researchers found that in an as-treated analysis, beneficiaries undergoing surgical ablation had a risk-adjusted median survival advantage of 4.40 months compared to those without (7.82 versus 7.46 years, respectively). The risk-adjusted median survival advantage was 4.96 months for beneficiaries undergoing CABG by surgeons who frequently ablate versus those who infrequently ablate (7.03 versus 6.62 years).<\/p>\n “This study is one of several recent analyses suggesting that surgical ablation may meaningfully improve survival in patients with preexisting atrial fibrillation undergoing CABG,” Schaffer said in a statement. “Our analysis found that the treatment effect of surgical ablation for atrial fibrillation manifested late, over two years after CABG.”<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n