Surgery for atrial fibrillation

Richard Lee, Jane Kruse, Patrick M. McCarthy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

29 Scopus citations

Abstract

The field of atrial fibrillation is evolving rapidly. Although a medical rhythm control strategy has not proven to be beneficial for survival, new interventional therapies have improved the rate of sinus restoration and thus have the potential to improve outcomes. in particular, the maze procedure can be performed safely and cures the majority of patients with atrial fibrillation. Over the last two decades, the introduction of new ablation technologies has made the procedure much easier to perform and it is now more widely applied to patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing cardiac surgery. Minimally invasive modifications of the maze using these technologies have offered an important step towards developing a stand-alone procedure for the cure of atrial fibrillation with potentially decreased morbidity. We review the magnitude of the problem, the history of past surgical treatments, current surgical options and the future direction of surgical therapy.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)505-513
Number of pages9
JournalNature Reviews Cardiology
Volume6
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2009
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

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