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Catheter Ablation as First-Line Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation: Ready for Prime-Time?

  • Invasive Electrophysiology and Pacing (EK Heist, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Current guidelines include atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation as part of the management strategy in patients that have failed at least one oral antiarrhythmic drug treatment course. However, growing evidence derived from both randomized and non-randomized studies demonstrate lower rates of AF recurrence and AF burden in patients with paroxysmal AF that are naïve to antiarrhythmic drug treatment. Furthermore, progression from paroxysmal AF to persistent AF appears to be delayed by early catheter ablation of AF. The current review addresses the question of the best timing for ablation in patients with paroxysmal AF and provides the rationale for offering AF ablation as first-line therapy based on the most updated evidence available.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arrhythmia & Pacing Service, Hamilton Health Science, McMaster University, 237 Barton St East. David Braley CVSRI, Room 3C-120, Hamilton, ON, Canada, L8L 2X2

    Aldo G. Carrizo

  2. Department of Medicine, Arrhythmia & Pacing Service, Hamilton Health Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, L8L 2X2

    Carlos A. Morillo

  3. Population Health Research Institute, David Braley CVSRI, Room 3C-120, Hamilton, ON, Canada, L8L 2X2

    Carlos A. Morillo

Authors
  1. Aldo G. Carrizo
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  2. Carlos A. Morillo
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Correspondence to Carlos A. Morillo.

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Conflict of Interest

Aldo G. Carrizo declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Carlos A. Morillo reports grants and other from Boston Scientific, personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, grants from Pfizer, grants from Biosense Webster, and grants from Bayer.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

In the RAAFT-2 study (reference 17), Dr. Morillo conducted this trial, and informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

This article does not contain any studies with animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Invasive Electrophysiology and Pacing

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Carrizo, A.G., Morillo, C.A. Catheter Ablation as First-Line Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation: Ready for Prime-Time?. Curr Cardiol Rep 18, 71 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-016-0747-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-016-0747-4

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