Ablating Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Successfully

Ablating brain embolism in atrial fibrillation.

See related article, page 265. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is widely recognized as the most common cause of cardioembolic stroke in those aged 55 years. Less well appreciated are silent embolic infarcts and their impact on cognitive decline and vascular dementia. Hence, the prevention of both clinical and silent brain infarcts is the primary goal of effective AF treatment. Indeed, entire industrie...

Clinical characteristics of patients with persistent atrial fibrillation successfully treated by left atrial ablation.

BACKGROUND We sought to characterize patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) who were successfully treated by ablation targeting the left atrium (LA). METHODS AND RESULTS Ninety-three patients (58±10 years, 79 male) undergoing ablation of persistent AF were studied. During the first procedure, ablation was performed in the LA and coronary sinus, consisting of pulmonary vein isolatio...

Ablation of Paroxysmal and Persistent Atrial Fibrillation

Introduction Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in humans. Its maintenance is thought to be due to multiple wavelets reentry occurring in both atria [1]. Previous studies have demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of cryoablation to create lesions in both atria [2] and on the posterior wall of the left atrium [3], connecting the four pulmonary veins and the mitral annulu...

Ablation of long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most commonly encountered arrhythmia in the clinical setting affecting nearly 6 million people in United States and the numbers are only expected to rise as the population continues to age. Broadly it is classified into paroxysmal, persistent and longstanding persistent AF. Electrical, structural and autonomic remodeling are some of the diverse pathophysiological...

Catheter Ablation for Persistent Atrial Fibrillation.