Symptomatic improvement after catheter ablation of supraventricular tachycardia measured by the arrhythmia-specific questionnaire U22

Abstract

Introduction. The main indication for ablation of supraventricular tachycardia is symptomatic relief. Generic measures of quality of life are not suitable for direct evaluation of arrhythmia-related symptoms, and a specific tool is needed. The questionnaire U22 quantifies symptoms associated with arrhythmic events. It uses discrete 0–10 scales for quantification of influence of arrhythmia on well-being, intensity of discomfort, type of dominant symptom, and a time aspect that summarizes duration and frequency of spells. We evaluated U22 in a well defined group of patients with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, undergoing an intervention with a distinct end-point and a high success rate.

Methods. Symptoms in patients with accessory pathway and atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia scheduled for ablation were measured with U22 and SF-36 on admission. The evaluation was repeated after 6 months.

Results. Altogether 58 patients successfully ablated in 2006–2008 completed the four forms (U22 and SF-36 at base-line and follow-up, 210 ± 35 days after ablation). The score for well-being (0–10; 10 being best) increased from 5.9 ± 2.6 to 7.9 ± 1.9 (P < 0.0005). The score for arrhythmia as cause for impairment in well-being (0–10; 10 being highest) decreased from 7.5 ± 2.8 to 2.0 ± 3.1 (P < 0.0005). The time aspect score (0–10) decreased from 4.7 ± 1.5 to 1.4 ± 1.8 (P < 0.0005). The two SF-36 summary measures PCS and MCS increased from 46.9 ± 9.4 to 48.4 ± 10.7 and from 44.9 ± 12.5 to 49.1 ± 9.9 (P = 0.04 and 0.002).

Conclusion. After successful ablation of accessory pathway and atrioventricular nodal re-entrant tachycardia, the U22 protocol detected a relevant increase in arrhythmia-related well-being. Modest improvement in general well-being was detected by the SF-36 protocol.

Key words::

• Arrhythmia symptoms
• catheter ablation
• quality of life
• supraventricular tachycardia
• symptom-specific protocol

Acknowledgements

The study was supported by governmental research funds from the Swedish NHS (ALF Medel) and The Heart Foundation of Northern Sweden (Norrländska Hjärtfonden).

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.