Advances in catheter ablation: a burning trail!

The last 15 years have literally witnessed a revaluation in the management of patients with cardiac arrhythmia. Although the visibility for these advances has come from successful catheter ablation of common arrhythmia, these advances could not have occurred without the preceding details where in painstaking anatomic and electrophysiological studies were done. The options available to patients with AF and certain ventricular arrhythmias were simply not present two decades ago. An appreciation of the role of extra cardiac structures including the thoracic veins, great arteries and retro-atrial ganglionated plexii along with the availability of accurate imaging and navigation techniques has fueled these great advances. The next five to ten years we will see even greater innovations as the complications and risks of arrhythmias and ablation have sought to be minimized while cardiac "electrophysiology techniques" permeate other organ systems including the brain.