Current Atrial Fibrillation Ablation: An Alert for the Prevention and Treatment of Esophageal Lesions

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is recognized as the most frequent cardiac arrhythmia in clinical practice, and is responsible for the highest number of hospital admissions. In the general population, its prevalence is lower than 0.1% in individuals younger than 50 years, but increases exponentially with age, affecting about 8% of elderly individuals older than 80 years. Therefore, with the increase in the population’s life expectancy, a growing number of patients is or will be exposed to the risks of AF in the coming years.^,

The recent introduction of new anticoagulants has brought considerable advances in the prevention of cerebral embolism, the most severe complication of AF.^, However, the development of more effective antiarrhythmic drugs failed to show progress during this period. Therefore, a large number of patients still live with the limitations imposed by AF, including decreased quality of life due to symptoms such as palpitations, reduced functional capacity, or manifestations of cardiac insufficiency, in addition to the psychological problems proper of these conditions.^,

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