RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Impact of COVID-19 on patients awaiting ablation for atrial fibrillation JF Open Heart JO Open Heart FD British Cardiovascular Society SP e001969 DO 10.1136/openhrt-2022-001969 VO 9 IS 1 A1 Charlene Pius A1 Hasan Ahmad A1 Richard Snowdon A1 Reza Ashrafi A1 Johan EP Waktare A1 Zoltan Borbas A1 Vishal Luther A1 Saagar Mahida A1 Simon Modi A1 Mark Hall A1 Dhiraj Gupta A1 Derick Todd YR 2022 UL http://openheart.bmj.com/content/9/1/e001969.abstract 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.