Prospective Study to Validate Ablation Parameters with MRI Based Scar for Left Atrial Ablation

One of the goals of an ablation procedure is to create scarring of cardiac tissue. Not all ablations result in scar tissue. Advances in technology have improved scarring but ideal parameters that result in scar tissue are still not completely clear and there is great variability in the parameters used. Theoretically, intense ablation can always create scar tissue but is also likely to create more complications such as cardiac perforations. The investigator recently published another retrospective study looking at ablation parameters that reliably result in scar tissue but it had its limitations as it was retrospectively done. This is a prospective study to validate the parameters that result in long term scarring. MRI has long been used to visualize ablation scar tissue. So in this study patients undergoing, initial left atrial ablation for atrial fibrillation as standard of care will undergo a 3 month post ablation MRI and that will be used to validate the ablation parameters.