[1] Calkins H, Hindricks G, Cappato R, et al. 2017 HRS/EHRA/ECAS/APHRS/SOLAECE expert consensus statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation. Europace 2018; 20: e1−e160. doi: 10.1093/europace/eux274 [2] Poole JE, Bahnson TD, Monahan KH, et al. Recurrence of atrial fibrillation after catheter ablation or antiarrhythmic drug therapy in the CABANA trial. J Am Coll Cardiol 2020; 75: 3105−3118. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2020.04.065 [3] Hunter RJ, Berriman TJ, Diab I, et al. A randomized controlled trial of catheter ablation versus medical treatment of atrial fibrillation in heart failure (the CAMTAF trial). Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2014; 7: 31−38. doi: 10.1161/CIRCEP.113.000806 [4] Fink T, Schlüter M, Heeger CH, et al. Stand-alone pulmonary vein isolation versus pulmonary vein isolation with additional substrate modification as index ablation procedures in patients with persistent and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation: the randomized Alster-Lost-AF trial (Ablation at St. Georg Hospital for Long-Standing Persistent Atrial Fibrillation). Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2017; 10: e005114. doi: 10.1161/CIRCEP.117.005114 [5] Dixit S, Marchlinski FE, Lin D, et al. Randomized ablation strategies for the treatment of persistent atrial fibrillation: RASTA study. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2012; 5: 287−294. doi: 10.1161/CIRCEP.111.966226 [6] Verma A, Sanders P, Champagne J, et al. Selective complex fractionated atrial electrograms targeting for atrial fibrillation study (SELECT AF): a multicenter, randomized trial. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2014; 7: 55−62. doi: 10.1161/CIRCEP.113.000890 [7] Verma A, Jiang CY, Betts TR, et al. Approaches to catheter ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation. N Engl J Med 2015; 372: 1812−1822. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1408288 [8] Kirchhof P, Camm AJ, Goette A, et al. Early rhythm-control therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation. N Engl J Med 2020; 383: 1305−1316. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2019422 [9] Wazni OM, Dandamudi G, Sood N, et al. Cryoballoon ablation as initial therapy for atrial fibrillation. N Engl J Med 2021; 384: 316−324. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2029554 [10] Andrade JG, Wells GA, Deyell MW, et al. Cryoablation or drug therapy for initial treatment of atrial fibrillation. N Engl J Med 2021; 384: 305−315. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2029980 [11] Haïssaguerre M, Jaïs P, Shah DC, et al. Spontaneous initiation of atrial fibrillation by ectopic beats originating in the pulmonary veins. N Engl J Med 1998; 339: 659−666. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199809033391003 [12] Kuck KH, Brugada J, Fürnkranz A, et al. Cryoballoon or radiofrequency ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. N Engl J Med 2016; 374: 2235−2245. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1602014 [13] Ciconte G, Baltogiannis G, de Asmundis C, et al. Circumferential pulmonary vein isolation as index procedure for persistent atrial fibrillation: a comparison between radiofrequency catheter ablation and second-generation cryoballoon ablation. Europace 2015; 17: 559−565. doi: 10.1093/europace/euu350 [14] Koektuerk B, Yorgun H, Hengeoez O, et al. Cryoballoon ablation for pulmonary vein isolation in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation: one-year outcome using second-generation cryoballoon. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2015; 8: 1073−1079. doi: 10.1161/CIRCEP.115.002776 [15] Boveda S, Metzner A, Nguyen DQ, et al. Single-procedure outcomes and quality-of-life improvement 12 months post-cryoballoon ablation in persistent atrial fibrillation: results from the multicenter CRYO4PERSISTENT AF trial. JACC Clin Electrophysiol 2018; 4: 1440−1447. doi: 10.1016/j.jacep.2018.07.007 [16] Su WW, Reddy VY, Bhasin K, et al. Cryoballoon ablation of pulmonary veins for persistent atrial fibrillation: results from the multicenter STOP Persistent AF trial. Heart Rhythm 2020; 17: 1841−1847. doi: 10.1016/j.hrthm.2020.06.020 [17] Liang JJ, Elafros MA, Chik WW, et al. Early recurrence of atrial arrhythmias following pulmonary vein antral isolation: timing and frequency of early recurrences predicts long-term ablation success. Heart Rhythm 2015; 12: 2461−2468. doi: 10.1016/j.hrthm.2015.07.015 [18] Kakuta T, Fukushima S, Minami K, et al. Novel risk score for predicting recurrence of atrial fibrillation after the Cryo-Maze procedure. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2021; 59: 1218−1225. doi: 10.1093/ejcts/ezaa468 [19] Takamiya T, Nitta J, Inaba O, et al. Impact of diagnosis-to-ablation time on non-pulmonary vein triggers and ablation outcomes in persistent atrial fibrillation. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 2021; 32: 1251−1258. doi: 10.1111/jce.15002 [20] Rohr S. Arrhythmogenic implications of fibroblast-myocyte interactions. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2012; 5: 442−452. doi: 10.1161/CIRCEP.110.957647 [21] Jalife J, Kaur K. Atrial remodeling, fibrosis, and atrial fibrillation. Trends Cardiovasc Med 2015; 25: 475−484. doi: 10.1016/j.tcm.2014.12.015 [22] Vasquez C, Mohandas P, Louie KL, et al. Enhanced fibroblast-myocyte interactions in response to cardiac injury. Circ Res 2010; 107: 1011−1020. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.110.227421 [23] Maesen B, Zeemering S, Afonso C, et al. Rearrangement of atrial bundle architecture and consequent changes in anisotropy of conduction constitute the 3-dimensional substrate for atrial fibrillation. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2013; 6: 967−975. doi: 10.1161/CIRCEP.113.000050 [24] Kim YM, Kattach H, Ratnatunga C, et al. Association of atrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase activity with the development of atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery. J Am Coll Cardiol 2008; 51: 68−74. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2007.07.085 [25] Chiang DY, Kongchan N, Beavers DL, et al. Loss of microRNA-106b-25 cluster promotes atrial fibrillation by enhancing ryanodine receptor type-2 expression and calcium release. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2014; 7: 1214−1222. doi: 10.1161/CIRCEP.114.001973 [26] Butt RP, Bishop JE. Mechanical load enhances the stimulatory effect of serum growth factors on cardiac fibroblast procollagen synthesis. J Mol Cell Cardiol 1997; 29: 1141−1151. doi: 10.1006/jmcc.1996.0347 [27] Luo X, Yang B, Nattel S. MicroRNAs and atrial fibrillation: mechanisms and translational potential. Nat Rev Cardiol 2015; 12: 80−90. doi: 10.1038/nrcardio.2014.178 [28] Guo Y, Lip GY, Apostolakis S. Inflammation in atrial fibrillation. J Am Coll Cardiol 2012; 60: 2263−2270. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2012.04.063 [29] Nattel S, Heijman J, Zhou L, et al. Molecular basis of atrial fibrillation pathophysiology and therapy: a translational perspective. Circ Res 2020; 127: 51−72. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.120.316363 [30] Kim YG, Boo KY, Choi JI, et al. Early recurrence is reliable predictor of late recurrence after radiofrequency catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation. JACC Clin Electrophysiol 2021; 7: 343−351. doi: 10.1016/j.jacep.2020.09.029