title: Catheter ablation for asymptomatic atrial fibrillation?
abstract: Ablation therapy for atrial fibrillation (AF) has been shown to be more efficient than medical treatment alone. Long-term success of AF ablation is still around 50% after one ablation and higher after two, with a substantial amount of asymptomatic recurrences in formerly symptomatic patients. Given the lack of evidence for superiority of rhythm control over rate control in terms of stroke reduction and mortality, AF ablation remains a treatment for symptom reduction only, although ablation has never been a part of these studies. There is early evidence that ablation could decrease the long-term risk of stroke; however, prospective studies are needed to assess whether this is the case and how patients with a successful ablation can be identified. If AF ablation can be shown to improve long-term morbidity, it could also become a reasonable treatment for patients with asymptomatic AF.
authors: Southlake Regional Health Centre, 602-581 Davis Dr, Newmarket, Ontario L3Y 2P6, Canada.
authors: Simon
authors: S
authors: Kochhäuser
authors: Atul
authors: A
authors: Verma
mesh_terms: D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D012008:Recurrence; D012306:Risk; D020521:Stroke / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: ablation; anticoagulation; atrial fibrillation; outcome; stroke