Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation: long-term outcomes

Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia faced in clinical practice with a substantial impact on morbidity, mortality, and heathcare expenditures. Patients with atrial fibrillation in which a rhythm control strategy is desired to improve quality of life have had limited options. The discovery of the role of pulmonary vein triggers has led to the development of catheter ablation techniques that have shown promising short-term success rates. Long-term outcomes were until recently, lacking. These results confirm the inherently recurrent nature of atrial fibrillation and the need for multiple procedures to achieve reasonable long-term successful maintenance of sinus rhythm.