Five-year follow-up outcome after catheter ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation using a sequential biatrial linear defragmentation approach: What does atrial fibrillation termination during the procedure imply?

Catheter ablation of persistent AF using the sequential defragmentation approach provided limited long-term freedom of arrhythmias often requiring multiple procedures. AF termination was the sole factor predicting freedom from both arrhythmia recurrence and crossover to rate control strategies during long-term follow-up.