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

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.