The hybrid ablation treatment developed at Maastricht UMC+ leads to better results in persistent atrial fibrillation than the standard treatment, catheter ablation. About twice as many patients have no complaints after a year. In addition, the quality of life after one year is the same with both treatments, despite the fact that the hybrid ablation is a more serious procedure and requires more recovery time.

The research team, led by heart surgeon Bart Maesen and cardiologist Justin Luermans recently published the results in the scientific journal JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology.