Lessons learned from cryoballon pulmonary vein isolation in elderly patients – Should we go “cold for the old”?

Incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) increases with age and occurs in>5% of patients aged over 75  years [1]. In recent years, it turned out that AF catheter ablation is superior to antiarrhythmic drug-based rhythm control [2]. Thus, catheter ablation in AF patients has become a class-I-indication in patients that remain symptomatic on antiarrhythmic therapy and can even be considered as first -line therapy [3]. However, most AF ablation trials did not include patients over 75 years of age [2,4].
Source: International Journal of Cardiology - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research