Does catheter ablation improve freedom from recurrent atrial fibrillation compared with medical therapy in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation?
Catheter ablation, particularly when combining pulmonary vein isolation with limited linear ablation, is more effective than medical therapy for preventing recurrence of persistent atrial fibrillation.
For patients with persistent atrial fibrillation, CA achieves significantly greater freedom from recurrent atrial fibrillation compared with medical therapy. The most efficacious strategy is likely to combine isolation of the pulmonary veins with limited linear ablation within the left atrium.
Wynn et al. (Mon,) studied this question.