Atrial fibrillation frequently results from bursts of tachycardia that originate in muscle bundles extending from the atrium to the pulmonary veins.

[citation needed] The potential complications include bleeding, blood clots, pericardial tamponade, and heart block, but these risks are very low, ranging from 2.6 to 3.2%.

For non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, a 2016 systematic review compared catheter ablation to heart rhythm drugs.

However, the evidence quality ranged from moderate to very low[4] A 2006 study, including both paroxysmal and non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, found that the success rates are 28% for single procedures.

[citation needed] Several experienced teams of electrophysiologists in US heart centers claim they can achieve up to a 75% success rate.

[citation needed] Pulmonary vein isolation has been found to be more effective than optimized antiarrhythmic drug therapy for improving quality of life at 12 months after treatment.

[6] Catheter ablation has been found to improve mental health outcomes in individuals with symptomatic atrial fibrillation.

In contrast to the thermal methods (extreme heat or cold) electroporation is being used and evaluated as a means of killing very small areas of heart muscle.

[11] It is thought to allow better selectivity than the previous thermal techniques, which used heat or cold to kill larger volumes of muscle.

[17] Recurrence during the nine months following the blanking period, occurs in 25% to 40% of patients, the variability greatly affected by obesity and the severity of atrial fibrillation before the ablation.