ReviewJournal of atrial fibrillation
A Patient With Asymptomatic Cerebral Lesions During AF Ablation: How Much Should We Worry?
Review in Journal of atrial fibrillation. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Silent cerebral lesions after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation using cryoballoon, hotballoon, laserballoon and radiofrequency catheters: a Bayesian network meta-analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2024Pooled it
- Interrupted versus uninterrupted anticoagulation therapy for catheter ablation in adults with arrhythmias.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Incidence of silent cerebral lesions during pulsed field ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.Annals of medicine · 2026Trial
- Differences in prothrombotic response between the uninterrupted and interrupted apixaban therapies in patients undergoing cryoballoon ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation: a randomized controlled study.Heart and vessels · 2019Trial
- The potential value of serum neuron-specific enolase in screening for silent cerebral infarction following radiofrequency catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2026Article
- Pulse Field Ablation: An Update on Energy-Specific Adverse Events.Reviews in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Review
- Establishment and Validation of the Nomogram Model and the Probability of Silent Cerebral Infarction After Ablation Atrial Fibrillation.Cardiovascular drugs and therapy · 2025Observational
- Flecainide How and When: A Practical Guide in Supraventricular Arrhythmias.Journal of clinical medicine · 2021Review
- Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Using Robotic Magnetic Navigation Reduces the Incidence of Silent Cerebral Embolism.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2021Article
- Left Atrial Appendage Exclusion in Atrial Fibrillation Radiofrequency Ablation during Mitral Valve Surgery: A Single-Center Experience.Cardiology research and practice · 2021Article
- Cerebral thromboembolic risk in atrial fibrillation ablation: a direct comparison of vitamin K antagonists versus non-vitamin K-dependent oral anticoagulants.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2021Article
- Effect of Charge Delivery on Thromboembolism During Radiofrequency Ablation in Canines.JACC. Clinical electrophysiology · 2018Article
- Value of Interatrial Block for the Prediction of Silent Ischemic Brain Lesions.Journal of atrial fibrillationArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Silent brain lesions due to thrombogenicity of the procedure represent recognized side effects of atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation. Embolic risk is higher if anticoagulation is inadequate and recent studies suggest that uninterrupted anticoagulation, ACT levels above 300 seconds and administration of a pre-transeptal bolus of heparin might significantly reduce the incidence of silent cerebral ischemia (SCI) to 2%. Asymptomatic new lesions during AF ablation should suggest worse neuropsychological outcome as a result of the association between silent cerebral infarcts and increased long-term risk of dementia in non-ablated AF patients. However, the available data are discordant. To date, no study has definitely linked post-operative asymptomatic cerebral events to a decline in neuropsychological performance. Larger volumes of cerebral lesions have been associated with cognitive decline but are uncommon findings acutely in post-ablation AF patients. Of note, the majority of acute lesions have a small or medium size and often regress at a medium-term follow-up. Successful AF ablation has the potential to reduce the risk of larger SCI that may be considered as part of the natural course of AF. Although the long-term implications of SCI remain unclear, it is conceivable that strategies to reduce the risk of SCI may be beneficial.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.