Results from University of Miami study could one day change how people with atrial fibrillation are treated

New research from the University of Miami (UM) Miller School of Medicine could one day change the way people with atrial fibrillation are treated.

Researchers at UM conducted the Liraglutide Effects in Atrial Fibrillation (LEAF) study starting in 2019, and the results of the study have surprised even the researchers.

There were two groups of obese participants –  one that received the GLP-1 Liraglutide three months before having an ablation, and another group that did not.

People in both groups lost weight, but the patients who got the GLP1 had a better outcome for their ablation.

The study showed that 81% remained in sinus rhythm a year after their procedure. That's compared to 54% of those who did not.

The typical success rates for people who have ablation to treat atrial fibrillation is typically between 50-60% at one year.

Donna Wolfe is one of the study participants who received Liraglutide. Six years after her ablation, she's not gone back into AFib.

"I am in sinus rhythm, and I almost get, you know, emotional when I think about it because where I was you, know. How I was," she told CBS News Miami.

Wolfe was born with a congenital heart defect. She had a hole in her heart.  She had an arrythmia and was treated through her teenage years, when she was finally cleared to play sports.

She thought she was familiar with matters of the heart.

In 2017, she was hospitalized.

Doctors told her she was experiencing mini strokes.  And they found more.

"I was admitted to the hospital, diagnosed with diabetes, diagnosed with heart irregularities.  I had both a-flutter and a-fib going on," Wolfe said.

She tried medications, had cardio versions, but nothing worked.

When her doctor recommended an ablation, she was hesitant.  But it all worked out for her in the end because she was offered to take part in the LEAF study.

"The timing was so perfect because I had about three months before I could even schedule for my ablation," she told CBS News Miami.

Study participants were chosen randomly

Both took part in risk-factor modification.  For the group that didn't get the drug, they also took part in a nurse-practitioner led program emphasizing weight management, physical activity.

They also worked to control her blood pressure and glucose.

They received sleep apnea treatment if they needed it and overall lifestyle counseling.

Dr. Litsa Lambrakos is one of the study's co-authors.

"So, the results of the study were really dramatic, I would say, very amazing results that we were quite surprised to find," she said.

Lambrakos is also an associate professor of clinical medicine at the Miller School of Medicine.

"There was a dramatic difference in patients still being in normal rhythm and not having recurrence of their arrhythmia if they had gone into the risk factor management and the GLP1 receptor agonist as a pretreatment prior to the ablation," she told CBS News Miami. "And that's really something that hasn't been replicated in other studies," she told CBS News Miami.

Dr. Jeffrey Goldberger led the study and presented the research in late March.

The study was small, but the results are considered dramatic enough that they deserve attention and follow-up.

The University of Miami says there is an interest in larger trials to confirm the findings, and to determine the optimal timing and duration of the GLP-1 therapy.

"Even though it was a small study one site here at the University of Miami, 80% of the patients had persistent atrial fibrillation. And despite that, 80% of them were in normal rhythm at one year, and that really is what makes this exciting," Lambrakos said. "So, this is the tip of the iceberg, and we want to explore, you know, the possibilities."

Ongoing research is also exploring if there are similar effects with newer agents in this drug class and to a broader AFib patients.

"For patients with atrial fibrillation and obesity, this work opens the door to a new treatment paradigm," Goldberger said. "Instead of escalating procedural complexity, we may be able to improve outcomes by targeting the biology of the disease itself."

For Donna Wolfe, she's grateful to be doing so well.

"Within like two to three months, I was in perfect sinus rhythm, and I have been ever since," she said.

She remains on a GLP-1 and keeps up with her regular check-ups with her doctors at UM.