A new study published in The Lancet showed that the ablation procedure, widely used to treat atrial fibrillation (AF), which is an irregular heartbeat, successfully eliminates episodes of abnormal heart rhythm, but on its own, it may not be the reason for improving patients' quality of life.
The study raises the hypothesis that some positive changes noted by patients after the procedure may be related more to their expectations or reduced anxiety levels rather than directly to the ablation itself.
According to seven-day cardiac monitoring data, AF was detected in 21% of patients after the ablation procedure, which is significantly lower than the 41% recorded after a sham procedure.