Catheter ablation as first-line treatment for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Pharmacotherapy has been the mainstay of atrial fibrillation (AF) treatment. As AF progresses from paroxysmal to persistent, electrical and structural remodelling of the atria may become irreversible, rendering future rhythm-control therapies less effective. Results of earlier trials on rhythm control were disappointing and failed to establish the superiority of a rhythm-control strategy on cardiovascular outcomes,