AccScience Publishing / BH / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/BH026230027
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Catheter ablation in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: Sex, BMI, and real-world procedural patterns

Jay Nemade1 Teimurazi Tchikhoria2* Gulnoza Dussekeyeva3,5 Nino Javakhidze4 Roin Rekvava4,6
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1 Faculty of Medicine, Georgian National University SEU, Tbilisi, Georgia
2 Faculty of Medicine, Tbilisi State Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia
3 NEI Kazakh-Russian Medical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
4 David Tvildiani Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia
5 National Hospital of the Medical Center of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, Kazakhstan
6 Department of Cardiac Electrophysiology, American Hospital Tbilisi, Tbilisi, Georgia
Brain & Heart, 026230027 https://doi.org/10.36922/BH026230027
Received: 2 June 2026 | Revised: 21 July 2026 | Accepted: 29 July 2026 | Published online: 10 August 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation represents an early and potentially modifiable stage of atrial fibrillation due to its self-terminating nature. Age, body mass index, and sex influence procedural planning and outcomes of catheter ablation. As electrophysiology globally transitions toward low- and zero-fluoroscopy approaches, understanding procedural variability across demographic groups and populations is essential for guiding the adoption of these techniques. This retrospective study evaluated regional and sex-specific differences in demographic characteristics and ablation strategies among 84 patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation treated at centers in Georgia (n = 43) and Kazakhstan (n = 41). Female patients were significantly older than male patients (Cohen’s d = 0.55, p = 0.014), with the largest age difference observed in the Kazakh cohort (Cohen’s d = 0.70, p = 0.031). Across the combined Kazakh and Georgian cohort, no significant sex-related heterogeneity was identified (all p > 0.05). Cryoballoon ablation accounted for the majority of procedures (58.3%). In Kazakhstan, cryoablation was more frequently performed in males, whereas in Georgia, a modest preference for radiofrequency ablation among females was observed. Furthermore, fluoroscopy-related metrics highlighted real-world heterogeneity in electrophysiology practice and provided insight into how patient-level factors may influence procedural planning and the implementation of contemporary low- and zero-fluoroscopy ablation techniques.

 

Keywords
Atrial fibrillation
Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation
Catheter ablation
Cryoballoon ablation
Radiofrequency ablation
Fluoroscopy
Funding
No external funding was received for this study.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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Brain & Heart, Electronic ISSN: 2972-4139 Published by AccScience Publishing