Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent arrhythmia in adult population. It usually begins with self-terminating episodes, but progressively tends towards longer duration finally becoming a permanent heart rhythm.
AF is often asymptomatic and requires no antiarrhythmic treatment, but not infrequently causes symptoms and must be treated. Antiarrhythmic drugs are usually the initial treatment, but in patients in whom this treatment shows limited efficacy, with recurrent episodes, or poor tolerance due to side effects, catheter ablation can be considered, with efficacy rates around 60 to 70%.
