The study, which looked at 1,410 patients from 72 centers in 10 European countries between October 2010 and May 2011, found that 93.5 percent of patients completed a follow-up visit approximately one year after the procedure. Arrhythmia documentation was done by electrocardiogram in 77 percent, holter-monitoring in 53 percent, transtelephonic monitoring in 8 percent and/or implanted systems in 4.5 percent. More than 50 percent of patients became asymptomatic.

The study also found that 21 percent of patients were readmitted due to post-ablation arrhythmias. Of the patients with successful AFib ablations, a second ablation was required in 18 percent of the cases, and 51 percent of patients were under antiarrhythmic treatment. Only 2.6 percent of patients suffered an adverse event, and four died.