Author:
Lorenzo López Reboiro Manuel,Franco Gutierrez Raul,Ramos Rúa Laura,del Carmen Basalo Carbajales María,Rodrigo Lara Laura,Fraga González Candela,Sobrado Moreiras Celia,Manuel Cerqueiro González José,López Castro José
Abstract
Atrial fibrillation is a very frequent arrhythmia in our daily clinical practice, either isolated or associated with other heart diseases. It has high relevance as it can act as a decompensating agent of other heart diseases or damage the myocardium itself. Traditionally, the treatment of atrial fibrillation has been based on rhythm and rate control and also the treatment of its complications. To rhythm control, electrical or pharmacological cardioversion has been used, and different groups of bradycardizing drugs have been used for rate control. Anticoagulation is the most relevant treatment to prevent thromboembolic phenomena secondary to atrial fibrillation. However, with the recent development of endovascular procedures, the use of ablation to maintain sinus rhythm in this kind of patients has been increased displacing the use of other treatment strategies. Therefore, in this chapter, we would review the present evidence in the use of ablation techniques as atrial fibrillation treatment.