Curative radiofrequency ablation of paroxysmal junctional tachycardia in patients over 70 years of age: a multicenter study

Curative radiofrequency ablation of the reentry circuit of paroxysmal junct ional tachycardia is a relatively common method of treating this condition. The aim of this study was to determine whether the age of the patients sho uld be taken into account for assessing the indication. The study population was 178 patients aged 18 to 86 years (average 56 +/- 1 9 years), who had paroxysmal junctional tachycardia and normal interatrial ECGs. One hundred and thirty-five patients were under 70 years of age (Grou p I) and 43 were over 70 (Group II). No significant differences in the mech anism of reentry, which was intranodal in 67% of cases, in the risk of imme diate complications (11%) or in recurrence of tachycardia were observed bet ween the two groups. Functional improvement was more spectacular in Group I I with regression of the symptoms of associated cardiac disease and, above all, in reduction in the number of hospital admissions. The common associat ion of cardiac disease and other pathologies in Group II should however lea d to more careful management and follow-up of the more elderly patients. The authors conclude that radiofrequency ablation of paroxysmal junctional tachycardia in the over 70s is feasible and often provides better clinical results than observed in younger patients.