RESULTS
Most of the patients were male (85%), with IHD (67%) and mean age of
63±13 years. During a mean follow-up of 3±2 years, 117 (37%) patients
had VT recurrence and 73 (23%) died. Multivariate survival analysis
identified electrical storm (ES) at presentation, IHD, left ventricular
ejection fraction (LVEF), New York Heart Association (NYHA) class
III/IV, and C-ABL as independent predictors of VT recurrence. In 135
patients undergoing repeated procedures, only C-ABL and ES were
independent predictors of relapse. The independent predictors of
mortality were C-ABL, ES, LVEF, age and NYHA class III/IV. C-ABL
survival benefit was only seen in patients with a previous ablation (P
for interaction=0.04). Mortality at 30-days was similar between NC-ABL
and C-ABL (4% vs. 2%, respectively, P=0.777), as was complication rate
(10.3% vs. 15.1% respectively, P=0.336).