INTRODUCTION: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent arrhythmia seen in clinical practice. Until recently, antiarrhythmic medications have been the only commonly employed treatment for maintaining sinus rhythm. However, antiarrhythmic medications have a modest long-term efficacy and the potential for serious side effects. Radiofrequency (RF) ablation is now emerging as a viable alternative to antiarrhythmic medications in maintaining sinus rhythm in patients with AF. Several randomized trials comparing RF ablation with antiarrhythmic medications have now been published. OBJECTIVES: To perform a systematic review of published randomized trials comparing RF ablation with antiarrhythmic medications in the treatment of AF. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was performed and two authors independently abstracted the data from trials. A statistical analysis was performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software (BIOSTAT, Englewood, NJ, USA). RESULTS: A total of six trials were identified. Overall, RF ablation reduced the risk of AF recurrence by 65% at 1 year compared with antiarrhythmic medications. CONCLUSIONS: In selected patients with AF, RF ablation reduced the risk of AF recurrence at 1 year by 65% compared with antiarrhythmic medications.
INTRODUCTION:Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent arrhythmia seen in clinical practice. Until recently, antiarrhythmic medications have been the only commonly employed treatment for maintaining sinus rhythm. However, antiarrhythmic medications have a modest long-term efficacy and the potential for serious side effects. Radiofrequency (RF) ablation is now emerging as a viable alternative to antiarrhythmic medications in maintaining sinus rhythm in patients with AF. Several randomized trials comparing RF ablation with antiarrhythmic medications have now been published. OBJECTIVES: To perform a systematic review of published randomized trials comparing RF ablation with antiarrhythmic medications in the treatment of AF. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was performed and two authors independently abstracted the data from trials. A statistical analysis was performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software (BIOSTAT, Englewood, NJ, USA). RESULTS: A total of six trials were identified. Overall, RF ablation reduced the risk of AF recurrence by 65% at 1 year compared with antiarrhythmic medications. CONCLUSIONS: In selected patients with AF, RF ablation reduced the risk of AF recurrence at 1 year by 65% compared with antiarrhythmic medications.
Authors: Hugh Calkins; Karl Heinz Kuck; Riccardo Cappato; Josep Brugada; A John Camm; Shih-Ann Chen; Harry J G Crijns; Ralph J Damiano; D Wyn Davies; John DiMarco; James Edgerton; Kenneth Ellenbogen; Michael D Ezekowitz; David E Haines; Michel Haissaguerre; Gerhard Hindricks; Yoshito Iesaka; Warren Jackman; Jose Jalife; Pierre Jais; Jonathan Kalman; David Keane; Young-Hoon Kim; Paulus Kirchhof; George Klein; Hans Kottkamp; Koichiro Kumagai; Bruce D Lindsay; Moussa Mansour; Francis E Marchlinski; Patrick M McCarthy; J Lluis Mont; Fred Morady; Koonlawee Nademanee; Hiroshi Nakagawa; Andrea Natale; Stanley Nattel; Douglas L Packer; Carlo Pappone; Eric Prystowsky; Antonio Raviele; Vivek Reddy; Jeremy N Ruskin; Richard J Shemin; Hsuan-Ming Tsao; David Wilber Journal: J Interv Card Electrophysiol Date: 2012-03 Impact factor: 1.900
Authors: Craig T January; L Samuel Wann; Joseph S Alpert; Hugh Calkins; Joaquin E Cigarroa; Joseph C Cleveland; Jamie B Conti; Patrick T Ellinor; Michael D Ezekowitz; Michael E Field; Katherine T Murray; Ralph L Sacco; William G Stevenson; Patrick J Tchou; Cynthia M Tracy; Clyde W Yancy Journal: Circulation Date: 2014-03-28 Impact factor: 29.690
Authors: Nisha L Bhatia; Arshad Jahangir; William Pavlicek; Luis R P Scott; Gregory T Altemose; Komandoor Srivathsan Journal: J Atr Fibrillation Date: 2010-12-15