Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a chaotic heart rhythm of the top chambers of the heart. AF occurs in up to 10% of the population over the age of 60. It is associated with tiredness, impaired functional capacity and is the cause of up to 10% of strokes. Ablation is a procedure performed with small tubes (catheters) that are introduced through the top of the leg. Burns are made inside of the heart to treat AF. This procedure has been shown to cure 90% of patients with intermittent (paroxysmal) AF. The investigators currently use either one of two different catheters to create these burns inside the heart. The investigators do not know which is the best catheter to use in patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. The investigators study will randomly allocate patients to have their ablation performed by either one of the catheters to give a fair comparison between the two. The investigators objective is to study the differences between these two catheters.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
178
Wide area circumferential ablation (WACA) in the pulmonary vein antrum with subsequent pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) with a single tip irrigated catheter.
Circumferential ablation with a circular ablation catheter (Ablation Frontiers) to electrical silence.
University College Hospital London NHS Foundation Trust
London, United Kingdom
Freedom of AF at 1 year following AF ablation procedure measured by 7 day holter recording
Time frame: 1 year
Procedural time for pulmonary vein isolation
Time frame: Index procedure
All procedural complications
Time frame: Index
Incidence of pulmonary vein stenosis measure by MRI at 6 months post procedure
Time frame: 6 months
Quality of life questionnaire
Time frame: 6 months and 1 year
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