Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with concomitant AF and heart failure (HF) is associated with significantly lower HF hospitalizations and all-cause mortality compared with medical therapy, according to the CASTLE-AF trial. This trial, along with previous trials such as AATAC, highlights the important role of AF ablation in the management of patients with HF and AF.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Miyasaka, Y. et al. Incidence and mortality risk of congestive heart failure in atrial fibrillation patients: a community-based study over two decades. Eur. Heart J. 27, 936–941 (2006).
Corley, S. D. et al. Relationships between sinus rhythm, treatment, and survival in the Atrial Fibrillation Follow-Up Investigation of Rhythm Management (AFFIRM) study. Circulation 109, 1509–1513 (2004).
Torp-Pedersen, C. et al. Dofetilide in patients with congestive heart failure and left ventricular dysfunction. Danish Investigations of Arrhythmia and Mortality on Dofetilide Study Group. N. Engl. J. Med. 341, 857–865 (1999).
Roy, D. et al. Rhythm control versus rate control for atrial fibrillation and heart failure. N. Engl. J. Med. 358, 2667–2677 (2008).
Marrouche, N. F. et al. Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation with heart failure. N. Engl. J. Med. 378, 417–427 (2018).
Khan, M. N. et al. Pulmonary-vein isolation for atrial fibrillation in patients with heart failure. N. Engl. J. Med. 359, 1778–1785 (2008).
Hsu, L. F. et al. Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation in congestive heart failure. N. Engl. J. Med. 351, 2373–2383 (2004).
Di Biase, L. et al. Ablation versus amiodarone for treatment of persistent atrial fibrillation in patients with congestive heart failure and an implanted device: results from the AATAC multicenter randomized trial. Circulation 133, 1637–1644 (2016).
Shah, R. U. et al. Procedural complications, rehospitalizations, and repeat procedures after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 59, 143–149 (2012).
Di Biase, L. et al. Left atrial appendage isolation in patients with longstanding persistent AF undergoing catheter ablation: BELIEF trial. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 68, 1929–1940 (2016).
Acknowledgements
The authors thank J. Romero (Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY, USA) for critical reading of the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Di Biase, L., Habibi, M. Atrial fibrillation in heart failure — time to revise the guidelines?. Nat Rev Cardiol 15, 199–200 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2018.20
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2018.20
