Catheter Ablation in Atrial Fibrillation: Recent Advances

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the leading cause of arrhythmia-related morbidity and mortality. Recurrent symptoms, hospitalizations, and cost burden to patients have necessitated treatments beyond antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) for patients with AF. Catheter ablation has proven to be effective over medical therapy alone; however the recurrence rates for atrial tachyarrhythmias post-ablation remain significant, particularly in patients with persistent and long-standing persistent AF. Hence, new techniques for catheter ablation have arisen, such as non-thermal energy sources, novel catheters, electroanatomical mapping, and ablation of additional targets. In this review, we discuss the recent advances in the field of catheter ablation, including newer modalities for the prevention of adverse events and future perspectives.