Can quitting alcohol after heart ablation keep irregular beats away?
NCT ID NCT05510167
First seen Sep 14, 2026 · Last updated Sep 15, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers are testing whether reducing alcohol intake after catheter ablation helps people with atrial fibrillation. The trial enrolls 184 patients who regularly drink more than five alcoholic drinks per week and are scheduled for their first ablation. Participants are asked to either abstain completely or limit themselves to two or fewer drinks per week for eight months. The study measures whether the irregular heartbeat returns, and tracks changes in quality of life and cognitive function.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- a behavioral program asking participants to abstain from alcohol or drink two or fewer drinks per week after catheter ablation
- What this could lead to
- If cutting back helps, doctors could give patients clear advice about drinking after ablation to lower the chance of the irregular heartbeat returning.
- What could go wrong
- Participants may find it hard to stick to the drinking limits, and the trial may not show a clear link between alcohol and recurrence. Results may not apply to people who drink less or have other heart conditions.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 184 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2022
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 85 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * AF patients that regularly consume \>5 alcoholic drink (\*12 g of pure alcohol/drink)/week * Paroxysmal or persistent AF * First catheter ablation History of alcohol-induced arrhythmia * Willing to sign the written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Binge drinkers (alcohol dependence) * Non-drinkers * LVEF \<35% * Psychiatric conditions * MoCA score ≤ 17 on Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) * Patients with established dementia * Medically unstable patients (acute/unstable or poorly controlled problems that would demand focused, relatively urgent or emergent medical attention) * Unwilling for alcohol-abstinence * Long-standing persistence AF * Patient under legal protection * Pregnancy
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, St. David's Medical Center
RECRUITINGAustin, Texas, 78705, United States
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