Cryoballoon ablation for atrial fibrillation

Abstract

Pulmonary vein (PV) isolation is the cornerstone of ablation therapy for atrial fibrillation. The majority of procedures are still performed using radiofrequency (RF) energy and a point-by-point ablation approach. Novel ‘single shot’ ablation tools with the aim of creating a circumferential lesion around the PVs with a single or a limited number of energy applications emerge. The currently most widely used balloon-based device for PV isolation is the cryoballoon which has proven to be an alternative for standard point-by-point RF ablation.