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Updated: Aug 31, 2025

Catheter Ablation in Combination With Left Atrial Appendage Closure for Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: February 26, 2013
Neuromodulation therapy for atrial fibrillation
Maham F Karatela1, Marat Fudim1, Joseph P Mathew2
1Cardiac Electrophysiology Section, Duke Heart Center and Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina; Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, North Carolina.
Abstract:
Atrial fibrillation has a multifactorial pathophysiology influenced by cardiac autonomic innervation. Both sympathetic and parasympathetic influences are profibrillatory. Innovative therapies targeting the neurocardiac axis include catheter ablation or pharmacologic suppression of ganglionated plexi, renal sympathetic denervation, low-level vagal stimulation, and stellate ganglion blockade. To date, these therapies have variable efficacy. As our understanding of atrial fibrillation and the cardiac nervous system expands, our approach to therapeutic neuromodulation will continue evolving for the benefit of those with AF.
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