IS THERE A PERFECT APPROACH FOR ABLATION PERSISTENT ATRIAL FIBRILLATION?


Komandoor Srivathsan, M.D., Mayo Clinic, AZ, USA

Ablation of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation that remains symptomatic despite tolerated antiarrhythmic medication is widely utilized with reasonable success. However, ablative approach in persistent atrial fibrillation remains unclear. Pulmonary vein isolation remains the cornerstone but what additional procedures need to be done to enhance the poor success rate remains inconclusive. Fractionated atrial electrogram, linear lines and more recently rotor modulation have all been proposed by several groups. This review will focus on the strengths and weakness of these approaches.