Comparing imaging methods to evaluate heart ablation treatment

Atrial fibrillation is a condition where your heart rhythm becomes irregular, and one proven treatment is catheter ablation—a procedure where doctors use heat, extreme cold, or electrical pulses to scar small areas of heart tissue that are causing the problem. This trial is testing whether a special heart imaging scan called cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) can safely show doctors how well the ablation worked, without needing a second invasive procedure to check.

Currently, doctors check whether ablation worked by doing another invasive procedure three months later, which carries risks. This imaging scan could give doctors the same information in a safer, non-invasive way, helping them understand why some patients' irregular heartbeats come back and potentially improving future treatment.