Summary

Recent studies suggest that pulmonary vein isolation with radiofrequency ablation may significantly reduce the time to first recurrence and the burden of atrial fibrillation (AF) compared with antiarrhythmic drug (AAD) therapy in patients with paroxysmal AF. The primary objective of the Radiofrequency Ablation versus Antiarrhythmic Drugs for Atrial Fibrillation Treatment-2 study [RAAFT-2; NCT00392054] was to assess if catheter-based PVI isolation is superior to AADs as first-line therapy in patients with symptomatic paroxysmal recurrent AF who were not previously treated with therapeutic doses of AADs.