Atrial Fibrillation Ablation in chronic AF / No

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the most frequent cardiac arrhythmias. There are many treatment strategies for its treatment included drug therapies (rhythm and rate control) and catheter based therapies like as radiofrequency and crayoablation. Although results of catheter ablation for paroxysmal AF is satisfying there are controversies about it results in chronic and persistent AF. Approximately one-third of AF ablation procedures are currently performed in patients with persistent or long-standing persistent AF. The success rate for persistent and long standing persistent AF ablation are 27 and 42.9% without antiarrhythmic drugs respectively. Amiodarone and other antiarrhythmic drug’s efficacy in maintaining sinus rhythm after external cardioversion were 70 and 50% in persistent AF respectively. Because of advanced remodeling of atria in persistent or long standing AF, current approaches in catheter based may be less effective. By definition persistent AF lasts more than 7 days and longer durations of AF even up to 1 year included in this definition. AF begets AF and longer durations of AF causes severe and complicated changes in electromechanical characteristics of atria. Therefore, it is not surprising that common approaches of AF ablations are not successful enough to suggest this kind of therapy for all patients with persistent. Further studies will clarify appropriate criteria for AF ablation in patients with persistent AF. So we don’t recommend RF ablation of persistent AF for all patients.

کلیدواژه ها:

AF Ablation ، Persistent AF ، Atrial fibrillation