Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: Results from the first European registry

Medicalxpress.com: August 28, 2012

The findings were presented today at ESC Congress 2012 by Dr Elena Arbelo from Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Spain, a co-investigator of the study. “Atrial fibrillation is the most frequent heart rhythm disorder and it represents a highly significant burden of disease and expenditure throughout the world,” explained Dr Arbelo. “The currently available pharmacological therapies are not 100% effective, and they have secondary effects.” While symptoms remain the major reason for Afib ablation, patients also welcome a drug-free life-style. The principal ablation strategy is the isolation of the pulmonary veins with additional linear and/or fragmented electrogram ablation in 10-20% of patients. The AFib Ablation Pilot Study, the first registry to evaluate the day-to-day diagnostic and therapeutic processes of AFib ablation in Europe, is a prospective, multicentre, 12-month observational study which recruited 1410 patients from 10 different European countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain). Read More