PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Charlene Pius AU - Hasan Ahmad AU - Richard Snowdon AU - Reza Ashrafi AU - Johan EP Waktare AU - Zoltan Borbas AU - Vishal Luther AU - Saagar Mahida AU - Simon Modi AU - Mark Hall AU - Dhiraj Gupta AU - Derick Todd TI - Impact of COVID-19 on patients awaiting ablation for atrial fibrillation AID - 10.1136/openhrt-2022-001969 DP - 2022 Jun 01 TA - Open Heart PG - e001969 VI - 9 IP - 1 4099 - http://openheart.bmj.com/content/9/1/e001969.short 4100 - http://openheart.bmj.com/content/9/1/e001969.full SO - Open Heart2022 Jun 01; 9 AB - Objective Atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation services were significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to evaluate a symptom-based clinician prioritisation scheme for waiting list management compared with patient-completed quality of life (QoL) scores. We also sought to understand factors influencing QoL, particularly the impact of COVID-19, on patients awaiting AF ablation, via a bespoke questionnaire.Methods Patients awaiting AF ablation were sent two QoL questionnaires (Atrial Fibrillation Effect on QualiTy of Life (AFEQT) and EuroQol 5D (EQ5D-5L)) and the bespoke questionnaire. At a separate time point, patients were categorised as C1—urgent, C2—priority or C3—routine by their cardiologist based on review of clinic letters.Results There were 118 patients included with priority categorisation available for 86 patients. Median AFEQT scores were lower in C2 (30.4; 17.2–51.9) vs C3 patients (56.5; 32.1–74.1; p<0.01). Unplanned admission occurred in 3 patients in C3 with AFEQT scores of <40. Although 65 patients had AF symptoms during the pandemic, 43.1% did not seek help where they ordinarily would have. An exercise frequency of ≥3–4 times a week was associated with higher AFEQT (56.5; 41.2–74.1; p<0.001) and EQ5D (0.84; 0.74–0.88; p<0.0001) scores.Conclusion The QoL of patients awaiting AF ablation is impaired and AFEQT helps to identify patients at risk of admission, over and above physician assessment. COVID-19 influenced patients seeking medical attention with symptomatic AF when they normally would. Regular exercise is associated with better QoL in patients awaiting AF ablation.All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.