Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Arrhythmia-free survival and pulmonary vein reconnection patterns after second-generation cryoballoon and contact-force radiofrequency pulmonary vein isolation.
The aim of this study was to compare second-generation cryoballoon and contact-force radiofrequency point-by-point pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with regard to pulmonary vein reconnection and arrhythmia-free survival. ⋯ Improved arrhythmia-free survival and more durable pulmonary vein isolation is seen after PVI using second-generation cryoballoon as compared to contact-force radiofrequency, in patients with drug-refractory paroxysmal AF. Complication rates for both ablation techniques are low.