Ablation Therapy for Persistent Atrial Fibrillation

Curr Cardiol Rev. 2022;18(2):e290721195115. doi: 10.2174/1573403X17666210729101752.

Abstract

Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is the most common form of electrical disturbance of the heart and contributes to significant patient morbidity and mortality. With a better understanding of the mechanisms of atrial fibrillation and improvements in mapping and ablation technologies, ablation has become a preferred therapy for patients with symptomatic AF. Pulmonary Vein Isolation (PVI) is the cornerstone for AF ablation therapy, but particularly in patients with AF occurring for longer than 7 days (persistent AF), identifying clinically significant nonpulmonary vein targets and achieving durability of ablation lesions remains an important challenge.

Keywords: Atrial fibrillation; ablation; cryoballoon; left atrium; pulmonary vein isolation; radiofrequency.

MeSH terms

  • Atrial Fibrillation* / surgery
  • Catheter Ablation*
  • Cryosurgery*
  • Humans
  • Pulmonary Veins* / surgery
  • Recurrence
  • Treatment Outcome