High-risk Brugada syndrome: factors associated with arrhythmia recurrence and benefits of epicardial ablation in addition to implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation

Abstract

Aims: This study aims to evaluate the prognostic impact of the arrhythmogenic substrate size in symptomatic Brugada syndrome (BrS) as well as to validate the long-term safety and effectiveness of epicardial radiofrequency ablation (RFA) compared with no-RFA group.

Methods and results: In this prospective investigational long-term registry study, 257 selected symptomatic BrS patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation were included. Among them, 206 patients underwent epicardial RFA and were monitored for over 5 years post-ablation (RFA group), while 51 patients received only ICD implantation declining RFA. Primary endpoints included risk factors for ventricular fibrillation (VF) events pre-ablation and freedom from VF events post-ablation. In the RFA group, BrS substrates were identified in the epicardial surface of the right ventricle. During the pre-RFA follow-up period (median 27 months), VF episodes and VF storms were experienced by 53 patients. Independent risk factors included substrate size [hazard ratio (HR), 1.13; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.08-1.18; P < 0.001], aborted cardiac arrest (HR, 2.98; 95% CI, 1.68-5.28; P < 0.001), and SCN5A variants (HR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.15-4.27; P = 0.017). In the post-RFA follow-up (median 40 months), the RFA group demonstrated superior outcomes compared with no-RFA (P < 0.001) without major procedure-related complications.

Conclusion: Our study underscores the role of BrS substrate extent as a crucial prognostic factor for recurrent VF and validates the safety and efficacy of RFA when compared with a no-RFA group. Our findings highlight the importance of ajmaline in guiding epicardial mapping/ablation in symptomatic BrS patients, laying the groundwork for further exploration of non-invasive methods to guide informed clinical decision-making.

Keywords: Brugada syndrome; Catheter ablation; Outcome; Sudden cardiac death; Syncope; Ventricular fibrillation.