Heart Failure and Atrial Fibrillation - The Importance of Catheter Ablation

Heart failure and atrial fibrillation often coexist, leading to a further increase both in mortality and morbidity. Due to the increasing age of our society, a rising prevalence of both diseases can be expected. As a result, the number of patients with a combined history of heart failure and atrial fibrillation will also increase. An advantage of pharmacological antiarrhythmic therapy over drug-based frequency control has not yet been demonstrated in patients with atrial fibrillation and systolic dysfunction. For catheter ablation, on the other hand, superiority over drug therapy has been demonstrated in several randomized prospective trials, including a reduction in overall mortality. For this reason, catheter ablation in such patients is already an important cornerstone of multimodal therapy.