There is limited evidence to suggest which ablation method was the best .
There is limited evidence to suggest that CA may be a better treatment option compared to medical therapies in the management of persistent AF .
This review was also unable to recommend the best CA method
BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation ( AF ) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia seen in cardiovascular departments .
Treatments include medical interventions and catheter ablation .
Due to uncertainties in medical therapies for AF , and the need to continue sinus rhythm , ablation has been recently considered as a viable alternative .
Many new ablation methods based on pulmonary vein isolation ( PVI ) have been developed .
OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this review was to assess the beneficial and harmful effects of  catheter ablation ( CA ) in comparison with medical treatment in patients with paroxysmal and persistent AF .
The secondary objective was to determine the best regimen of CA .
Magnesium infusion and postoperative atrial fibrillation: a randomized clinical trial.
BACKGROUND Postoperative arrhythmias are among the most common complications of cardiac surgery . Total serum magnesium concentration will change after coronary bypass surgery but compensatory prophylactic administration of magnesium has remained a controversial issue . We studied whether prophylactic administration of magnesium could prevent post-coronary artery bypass grafting ( CABG ) arrhythmias and evaluated the effects of diabetes mellitus on prophylactic magnesium administration . METHODS In a clinical trial , 345 consecutive CABG c and i date s were r and omly assigned to study ( n = 166 , 48.1 % ) and control groups . Patients in study group received supplemental magnesium infusion as following : 2 g [ corrected ] after induction of anesthesia until cardio-pulmonary bypass and then 8 g upon arrival in Intensive Care Unit ( ICU ) until 24 hr . Total serum magnesium concentration was measured at four design ated time points : onset of induction , and 0 , 24 and 48 hr after ICU admission . Cardiac arrhythmias were sought with a 12-lead electrocardiogram ( ECG ) from the end of surgery up till discharge . RESULTS Atrial Fibrillation ( Af ) occurred in 34 patients ( 9.9 % ) . Total serum magnesium concentration was significantly higher in patients who received supplemental magnesium ( P < 0.001 ) and significantly lower in Af patients ( P= 0.02 ) . Among non-diabetics , Af incidence was significantly lower in study group compared with control group . CONCLUSIONS The occurrence of atrial fibrillation correlates with serum magnesium level . Diabetes mellitus probably hampers prophylactic effect of supplemental magnesium in preventing the occurrence of Af
There is limited evidence to suggest which ablation method was the best .
There is limited evidence to suggest that CA may be a better treatment option compared to medical therapies in the management of persistent AF .
This review was also unable to recommend the best CA method
BACKGROUND Atrial fibrillation ( AF ) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia seen in cardiovascular departments .
Treatments include medical interventions and catheter ablation .
Due to uncertainties in medical therapies for AF , and the need to continue sinus rhythm , ablation has been recently considered as a viable alternative .
Many new ablation methods based on pulmonary vein isolation ( PVI ) have been developed .
OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this review was to assess the beneficial and harmful effects of  catheter ablation ( CA ) in comparison with medical treatment in patients with paroxysmal and persistent AF .
The secondary objective was to determine the best regimen of CA .