Catheter ablation better than drugs for AF with heart failure
The procedure results in lower all-cause mortality and lower readmission rates, say researchers
Catheter ablation outperforms medical therapy for patients with atrial fibrillation complicated by heart failure, according to a meta-analysis.
German researchers pooled randomised data from seven clinical trials involving 1112 patients with AF complicated with heart failure to compare various types of medication or catheter ablation.
Catheter ablation was associated with significantly lower all-cause mortality — 10.7% for the procedure versus 18.9% for drug therapy.
Ablation also resulted in significantly lower rates of readmission (30.6% vs 47.5%), the authors wrote in the European Heart Journal.
