Publisher's Synopsis
This very prevalent cardiac rhythm is often regarded as almost an acceptable alternative to normal sinus rhythm. Other arrhythmias, such as ventricular rachycardia, ventricular fibrillation and paroxysmal junctional tachycardias seemed more important and received greater attention – but it has now become clear that atrial fibrillation, although many of its consequences develop insidiously, is a serious cardiac arrhythmia with a substantial burden of symptoms, impaired quality of life, morbidity and mortality. Antiarrhythmic drug therapy – the predominant treatment for this condition – has been disappointing because of poor efficacy and the likelihood of complications, particularly proarrhythmia. This has led to the search for alternative therapeutic approaches – a search which has yielded several promising results. Pacing, cardiac surgery, catheter ablation and implantable atrial defibrillators have all been effectively applied to the treatment of atrial
