Heart 2009;95:1723-1724
Editorial
What now for atrial fibrillation ablation?
Correspondence to Dr D Wyn Davies, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, St Mary’s Hospital Campus, Waller Department of Cardiology, Praed St, London W2 1NY, UK; dwyndavies@aol.com
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the commonest sustained cardiac arrhythmia. Its prevalence increases with age1 and it has an increased long-term risk of stroke, heart failure and all-cause mortality.2 The UK’s population is ageing and it has been calculated that over 0.9% of the entire NHS budget is already spent on managing AF and its consequences, principally that of stroke.3
Catheter ablation is the newest non-pharmacological treatment for AF. Although catheter ablation of the atrioventricular node and pacemaker implantation has been available since 1982,4 the restoration and maintenance of sinus rhythm by ablation within the left atrium has evolved rapidly following the observation that most paroxysms of AF are initiated by ectopic depolarisations arising in the muscular sleeves of the pulmonary veins.5 Initially, successful ablation depended upon patiently waiting for unpredictable ectopic beats to arise within those veins and then to navigate the ablation catheter to their source and apply radiofrequency
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Heart 2009 95: 1773-1783.[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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