A New Sham-Controlled Trial of Atrial Fibrillation Ablation

Clinical Takeaway

: Ablation reduced AF but was not associated with better quality of life compared to a sham procedure.

Context

As with other surgical therapies, there have been suggestions that the benefit of atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation is largely placebo. Only a few sham-controlled randomized trials have been published: One in 2024, with 126 patients, and another in 2026, with 60 patients, showed a benefit of AF ablation in quality of life and AF outcomes.

This latest sham-controlled trial involved 262 patients, 173 randomized to catheter ablation and 89 to sham procedure. Patients were demographically typical of those who undergo this ablation (median age, 67).

Key Results

At 6-month follow-up, the mean score on a 100-point quality-of-life questionnaire improved by 19 points in the catheter ablation group and ≈16 points in the sham group, a nonsignifica…

Reviewing Author

Mark S. Link, M.D.

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsCirculation; UpToDate