Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...

"A-Fib.com is a great web site for patients, that is unequaled by anything else out there."

Dr. Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

"Jill and I put you and your work in our prayers every night. What you do to help people through this [A-Fib] process is really incredible."

Jill and Steve Douglas, East Troy, WI

“I really appreciate all the information on your website as it allows me to be a better informed patient and to know what questions to ask my EP.

Faye Spencer, Boise, ID, April 2017

“I think your site has helped a lot of patients.”

Dr. Hugh G. Calkins, MD Johns Hopkins,
Baltimore, MD

Doctors & patients are saying about 'Beat Your A-Fib'...

"If I had [your book] 10 years ago, it would have saved me 8 years of hell.”

Roy Salmon, Patient, A-Fib Free,
Adelaide, Australia

"This book is incredibly complete and easy-to-understand for anybody. I certainly recommend it for patients who want to know more about atrial fibrillation than what they will learn from doctors...."

Pierre Jaïs, M.D. Professor of Cardiology, Haut-Lévêque Hospital, Bordeaux, France

"Dear Steve, I saw a patient this morning with your book [in hand] and highlights throughout. She loves it and finds it very useful to help her in dealing with atrial fibrillation."

Dr. Wilber Su,
Cavanaugh Heart Center, Phoenix, AZ

"...masterful. You managed to combine an encyclopedic compilation of information with the simplicity of presentation that enhances the delivery of the information to the reader. This is not an easy thing to do, but you have been very, very successful at it."

Ira David Levin, heart patient,
Rome, Italy

"Within the pages of Beat Your A-Fib, Dr. Steve Ryan, PhD, provides a comprehensive guide for persons seeking to find a cure for their Atrial Fibrillation."

Walter Kerwin, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

Ablation Patients 10 Times Less Likely to Develop Persistent A-Fib Than Those on Drugs

Published March 29, 2021

Atrial Fibrillation is a progressive disease. For some that progress can happen quickly. For one in five patients, the path from Paroxysmal A-Fib (occasional) to Persistent A-Fib occurs within one year. (But there are people who’ve had Paroxysmal A-Fib for years.)

Delaying A-Fib Progression: Ablation vs Antiarrhythmic Drugs

The ATTEST study (The Atrial Fibrillation Progressions Trial) compared the treatments of radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation versus standard antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) in delaying A-Fib progression.

Patients were followed for three years. Of patients from the standard antiarrhythmic drugs group, 17.5% developed persistent A-Fib. While only 2.4% from the RF catheter ablation group experienced progression.

A-Fib Progression Delayed: The results at three years after study initiation show that patients treated with catheter ablation (aged 67.8±4.8 years) were almost 10 times less likely to develop persistent AF than patients on antiarrhythmic drugs.

“These results…suggest that early use of catheter ablation can significantly delay or prevent the progression of AF more effectively than drug therapy.”Prof. Karl-Heinz Kuck,” ATTEST lead author

The results of the ATTEST clinical trial aren’t at all surprising. It’s intuitive isn’t it? Someone free of A-Fib after a catheter ablation obviously wouldn’t progress to Persistent A-Fib—since they no longer have even occasional (paroxysmal) A-Fib.

The ATTEST study provides us additional clinical proof that catheter ablation may be a better treatment choice for most A-Fib patients compared to a lifetime on antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs).

Consider Working Aggressively to Stop Your A-Fib

Keep in mind there are people who’ve had Paroxysmal A-Fib for years and never progress to Persistent or Long-standing Persistent. But the odds are against you. The longer you have Atrial Fibrillation, the harder it can be to cure it.

Think About Your Treatment Goals: Is managing your A-Fib and increased stroke risk with meds okay with you? Or do you prefer to aim for a cure?

Discuss the options with your doctor. Take action as soon as practical.

For more about the ATTEST clinical trial, see AF Symposium ‘20 After Diagnosis, How Soon Should an A-Fib Patient Get an Ablation?

Resource for this article

ESC 2019: Catheter ablation may be up to 10 times more effective than drug therapy alone at delaying AF progression. Cardiac Rhythm News. September 2, 2019. https://cardiacrhythmnews.com/catheter-ablation-may-be-up-to-10-times-more-effective-than-drug-therapy-alone-at-delaying-af-progression/