Complications associated with catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation

The past years catheter ablation has gained significant importance in the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF), hence procedure numbers have risen worldwide. Initially, data concerning complications were only available through surveys and single center reports but international classification of diseases (ICD) code-based data have recently been published representing real world conditions. The rate of overall acute complications is 6.3 % and has risen slightly in the past 10 years whereby cardiac complications occurred most frequently, followed by vascular, respiratory and neurological complications. Risk factors for a higher complication rate are advanced age (> 80 years), female gender and less experienced investigators and hospitals. © 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.