Balancing safety and efficacy of cryoballoon pulmonary vein isolation in the treatment of atrial fibrillation

Over the past decade, cryoballoon therapy has evolved into a well-recognized and
recommended ablation method to perform pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) in the
treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF)1. This thesis describes the search for a balance
between safety and efficacy in cryoballoon PVI and focusses primarily on the
improvement of safety aspects. In the early stage of cryoballoon PVI, the main goal
of cryoballoon ablation was to reach similar outcomes compared to the traditional
“gold standard” point by point radiofrequency (RF) ablation. The safety aspect was
not mentioned regularly in global research. Over the last years, the paradigm has
shifted. After the introduction of the second-generation cryoballoon and the proven
non-inferiority to RF ablation, more attention was pointed to the safety aspect.
During the years in which the research of this dissertation was performed, the
number of studies on safety aspects showed a sharp increase.

Original promotion date was June 19, 2020 (COVID-19)