How successful is AF ablation?

Let’s talk about success. At first glance, knowing whether a medical or surgical intervention achieves success seems quite simple. An antibiotic clears an infection–or it does not. A surgery removes a tumor with clean margins–or it does not. An angioplasty and stent open an artery during a heart attack–or it does not. In the case of treating atrial fibrillation, however, it’s not like that. And this is especially true when one considers the use of catheter ablation–the biggest hammer in the toolbox of an electrophysiologist. The doubters ask: why can’t it be simple? They say ablation cures other types of arrhythmia, such as supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) and atrial flutter. In these cases, a patient is wheeled into your lab with an arrhythmia and wheeled out without it. Black and white. Success or not. The confusion with AF stems from two big themes: One can be explained by looking at the definition of success:  …the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. When we speak about treating AF, aims and purposes are not as binary as whether an infection clears with antibiotics. I explain this to people using the aging analogy. Caregivers are not expected to cure aging, rather, we try to manage it. In many ways AF is the heart’s way of showing grey hair and wrinkles. (This is oversimplification, but allow me some leeway please.) So, at least in 2014, the aims and purposes of treating AF are often to manage it–gracefully....
Source: Dr John M - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: blogs