Cryoballoon Ablation Versus Radiofrequency Ablation For Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most prevalent arrhythmia. Its incidence increases with age and AF is associated with an increased risk of stroke, heart failure and mortality [1 –3]. The management of AF aims either at rate or rhythm control. Asymptomatic patients can be managed by rate control [4–6], whereas rhythm control is intended in symptomatic patients [7]. Either antiarrhythmic drugs (AAD) or catheter-based ablation (CA) can be applied when aiming at rhythm cont rol. However, CA is superior to AAD in maintaining sinus rhythm (SR) [8–13] and provides an effective treatment option, particularly for patients suffering from paroxysmal AF as implemented in the latest guidelines for the management of AF [7] .
Source: Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: research