Atrial Fibrillation Characterization on Paroxysmal and Persistent Patients

Background and Hypothesis: Atrial Fibrillation (AF) treatment strategies have limitations. The efficacy of the procedure depends in several factors such as age, AF duration, atrial diameter and atrial electrophysiological behavior, determining what has been termed as atrial substrate. Therefore, the effectiveness of one specific treatment such as the ablation procedure, will be determined by the areas responsible for the maintenance of the fibrillation and its modification and/or elimination. The identification of these areas with a clear description of the arrhythmic substrate is one of the most important factors to determine new biomarkers that explain, at electrophysiological level, the properties of the substrate and therefore, increase the acute efficacy and long-term effectiveness of the treatment.