Surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation using bipolar radiofrequency ablation in rheumatic mitral disease.

Objective: To analyze the effectiveness of surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) using bipolar radiofrequency ablation during mitral valve procedures of rheumatic etiology in heart surgery.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical registries of 53 patients submitted to atrial ablation with bipolar radiofrequency energy during mitral valve surgery. Thirty four (64%) patients were women and the age varied from 27 to 72 years old (average: 49.