Does radiofrequency ablation reduce the cumulative burden of atrial fibrillation in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation compared to antiarrhythmic drug therapy?
Radiofrequency ablation as initial therapy does not significantly reduce the 2-year cumulative burden of atrial fibrillation compared to antiarrhythmic drugs in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
In comparing radiofrequency ablation with antiarrhythmic drug therapy as first-line treatment in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, we found no significant difference between the treatment groups in the cumulative burden of atrial fibrillation over a period of 2 years. (Funded by the Danish Heart Foundation and others; MANTRA-PAF ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00133211.).
Nielsen et al. (2012) studied this question.