title: Atrial fibrillation ablation: reaching the mainstream.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) has evolved rapidly in the decade since its inception. We aimed to review the results of this evolution as reflected in the published literature.
  
  
  METHODS
  Publications through 2005 were reviewed, and data included if there was information on the technique used, and follow-up of at least 6 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  More than 23,000 patients met criteria for inclusion. There has been a steady improvement in reported outcomes (P<0.001). Variations on radiofrequency catheter ablation for pulmonary vein isolation result in apparent elimination ("cure") or improvement of AF in 75%, and surgical techniques are even better.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Catheter ablation of AF is now a mainstream procedure. Continuing technical advances are needed to achieve better results with more uniformity and reduced procedure times.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Cardiology Division, Arrhythmia Service, Montefiore Medical Center, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10467, USA. jfisher@montefiore.org
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Spinelli
authors.forename: Disha
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mookherjee
authors.forename: Andrew K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Krumerman
authors.forename: Eugen C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Palma
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome