Value of magnetic resonance imaging in guiding atrial fibrillation management.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice today. Until recently, the therapeutic approaches for AF have been limited by imperfect risk prediction models and suboptimal approaches for AF ablation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the detection of left atrial (LA) fibrosis and correlation of these structural remodelling changes to outcomes of stroke, AF recurrence, and congestive heart failure have provided us with information to optimize the care of our patients with AF based on screening for fibrotic atrial cardiomyopathy, for which AF is the arrhythmic manifestation. These data allow us to bring these new imaging modalities to the forefront of AF management and the delivery of personalized medicine. Future developments promise to improve the outcomes and safety for AF and fibrotic atrial cardiomyopathy.