Ablation of pulmonary veins works as well as more extensive treatment in persistent atrial fibrillation, study finds

Extensive catheter ablation is no more effective than more targeted ablation to isolate the pulmonary veins in reducing the rate of recurrent atrial fibrillation in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation, a trial reported in the New England Journal of Medicine has found.1 Percutaneous catheter ablation, a minimally invasive procedure in which small areas of cardiac tissue that are firing abnormal electrical impulses are destroyed by heat generated from radio waves, is an effective treatment for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Most triggers for the condition come …