ABSTRACT
Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained arrhythmia and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In addition to mechanisms such as atrial stretch and atrial remodeling, the activity of the autonomic nervous system has also been suggested to contribute to the progression from paroxysmal to persistent atrial fibrillation. Catheter-based renal denervation was introduced as a minimally invasive approach to reduce renal and whole body sympathetic activation with accompanying blood pressure reduction and left-ventricular morphological and functional improvement in drug-resistant hypertension. This review focuses on the potential effects of renal denervation on different arrhythmogenic mechanisms in the atrium and discusses potential anti-remodeling effects in atrial fibrillation patients with hypertension, heart failure and sleep apnea.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
M Böhm and C Ukena are supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (KFO 196). D Linz, S Ewen and F Mahfoud are supported by the Deutsche Hochdruckliga (DHL), and M Böhm and F Mahfoud by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kardiologie (DGK). U Schotten is supported by the Centre for Translational and Molecular Medicine, The Netherlands, The Netherlands Genomic Initiative, and the EU. The authors received scientific support from Medtronic, St. Jude, Covidien and Cordis. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.