Objective To observe the changes in laboratory examination indicators, cytokine levels and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) parameters of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) after radiofrequency ablation, and analyze the value of CMR combined with cytokines in predicting the recurrence risk of AF.

Methods A total of 88 AF patients treated with catheter radiofrequency ablation were retrospectively selected. According to the results of electrocardiogram within 3 months after the operation or 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiogram examination, the patients were divided into the group with recurrent AF (recurrence group) of 15 cases and group with maintaining sinus rhythm (sinus rhythm group) of 73 cases. The clinical data, laboratory examination indicators, cytokine levels and CMR parameters between two groups were compared to analyze the influencing factors of recurrence in AF patients after radiofrequency ablation.

Results The proportions of coronary heart disease and persistent AF in the recurrence group were higher than those in sinus rhythm group (P ＜ 0.05). The levels of IL-6, L-10 and TNF- α in cytokines were higher than those in sinus rhythm group (P ＜ 0.05 to P ＜ 0.01). The upper and lower diameters and left and right diameters of left atrium measured by three-dimensional cardiac ultrasound were higher than those in the sinus rhythm group (P ＜ 0.05). The left atrial volume index measured by CMR was significantly higher than that of the sinus rhythm group (P ＜ 0.01). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the IL-6, IL-10 and left atrial volume index were the independent influencing factors of postoperative recurrence in AF patients (P ＜ 0.05).

Conclusions The levels of IL-6 and IL-10 and left atrial volume index are helpful for predicting the prognosis of AF patients after radiofrequency ablation.