Catheter ablation · 2006–2026
Catheter AblationAll procedures, 2006–2026
Data from all 1,723 catheter ablation procedures (1,491 patients) performed in our department from my arrival at Osaka City General Hospital in 2006 to September 2026: age and body weight at treatment, success and recurrence rates, and outcomes by arrhythmia.
Summary
Procedures
1,723
June 2006–September 2026, 1,491 patients
Success rate
93.1%
1,604 successful of 1,723
Recurrence rate
14.0%
242 recurrences of 1,723
Median age
11 years
from 0 to 67 years
Including small children and patients after heart surgery
Under 1 year
21
Procedures in infants
Under 15 kg
131
Procedures in small children
Congenital heart disease
258
Arrhythmias with heart disease or after surgery
18 years and older
193
Mostly patients we have followed since childhood
Since 2016 we have also used cryoablation, which treats by freezing (cryoablation alone in 155 procedures, combined with radiofrequency in 22).
Success and recurrence
"Success" means that tachycardia could no longer be induced at the end of the procedure, or that symptoms or the arrhythmia improved. "Recurrence" means that the same arrhythmia returned after the procedure.
- Success1,604
- Other119
- Recurrence242
- No recurrence1,481
Age at treatment
The most common ages are 12 to 14 (junior high school). We treat patients from infants to adults we have followed since childhood.
Procedures
Body weight at treatment
131 procedures were in small children weighing under 15 kg (roughly up to 3 years of age). The smaller the body, the harder it is to handle the catheters.
Procedures
Results by period
Dividing the procedures into three periods, the recurrence rate has gradually decreased.
Recurrence rate (%)
| Period | Procedures | Patients | Success (%) | Recurrence (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–2012 | 571 | 491 | 91.4 | 19.8 |
| 2013–2018 | 528 | 476 | 94.7 | 14.0 |
| 2019–2026 | 624 | 576 | 93.3 | 8.8 |
| All periods | 1,723 | 1,491 | 93.1 | 14.0 |
Results by arrhythmia
| Arrhythmia | Procedures | Patients | Success (%) | Recurrence (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WPW syndrome | 702 | 643 | 98.6 | 10.8 |
| AVNRT | 332 | 295 | 94.9 | 12.7 |
| PVC/NSVT | 265 | 240 | 91.3 | 14.3 |
| Ventricular tachycardia (sustained VT) | 144 | 121 | 90.3 | 20.1 |
| Intra-atrial reentrant tachycardia / atrial flutter (IART/AFL) | 167 | 137 | 89.2 | 16.2 |
| Ectopic atrial tachycardia (EAT/focal AT) | 124 | 100 | 87.1 | 26.6 |
| Twin AV node tachycardia | 40 | 31 | 75.0 | 20.0 |
| Atrial fibrillation / multifocal atrial tachycardia (AF/MAT) | 35 | 27 | 74.3 | 25.7 |
| Junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) | 9 | 8 | 55.6 | 0.0 |
| PJRT | 14 | 13 | 100.0 | 35.7 |
| Mahaim fiber | 10 | 10 | 100.0 | 10.0 |
When two or more arrhythmias were treated in one procedure, each was counted (so the total is larger than the number of procedures). Rates for arrhythmias with few procedures can vary widely.
Detailed results
The three most common arrhythmias are described in detail on separate pages.
Methods: from our department's ablation database, we counted all 1,723 records (1,491 patients) in which radiofrequency or cryo energy was delivered for an arrhythmia between January 1, 2006 and September 26, 2026. Repeat procedures in the same patient were each counted as one procedure. Recurrence is the number recorded as recurrence in the database (the length of follow-up was not standardized).