Clinical Impact of the Microembolic Signal Burden During Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation: Just a Lot of Noise?

Abstract

In this multicenter study, we found no impact of the intraprocedural microembolic symbol/thromboembolic shower count on the occurrence of new DWI lesions, neuropsychological capability, or overt neurologic deficits after pulmonary vein isolation. Thus, not only the microembolic signal count but also procedural/individual factors may contribute to commensurable clinical damage, which may challenge this method as a valid biomarker during pulmonary vein isolation.