Cryoballoon ablation of atrial fibrillation: state of the art 10 years after its invention.

Abstract

The present review will discuss the technical aspects of a new patent invented in 1999 which allows cryoballoon ablation, an emerging technology used for the non pharmacological treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. A general evaluation of the safety and the reliability of the technique will be given together with an overview on its short and midterm outcome. Finally future directions of the technology and its possible implementation will be briefly treated.