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AF ablation Atrial fibrillation

Answering the critics of atrial fibrillation ablation

In the gratifying category, few things rank higher than vanquishing atrial fibrillation with catheter ablation. But yet, not everyone thinks so highly of a procedure that has come to dominate my medical career. Dr Rita Redberg, influential cardiologist and editor of the JAMA Internal Medicine “Less is More” series, said this about ablating AF: “Because […]

Categories
AF ablation Atrial fibrillation

Day 2 Boston AF symposium: Late morning and afternoon notes:

The late-morning sessions addressed the possible mechanism(s) of AF. Many ask what causes AF. The assumption holds that if we can ablate AF, we must know what causes it. This would not be true. One line of thinking holds that disorganized electrical conduction throughout the atria plays an important role–not just focal drivers and initiators […]

Categories
AF ablation Atrial fibrillation

Day 2 at Boston AF symposium: Morning notes

Dr. Frank Marchlinski moderated the first sessions: The global topic involved pulmonary vein reconnections. This is the bane of AF ablation. Our inability to broach the 80% success rates has most to do with the fact that PVs don’t stay isolated. Everyone wants to enhance the durability of PV isolation. Nassir Marrouche spoke about what […]