Long-term risk of stroke and bleeding post-atrial fibrillation ablation.

No evidence was found that CA significantly decreases the risk of stroke or major bleeding when adjusting for OAC use over time. It may be prudent to continue anticoagulation post-CA based on patient-risk profile until randomized trials demonstrate both reduced stroke rates with CA, and improved safety (balancing stroke and bleeding risk) with OAC discontinuation post-CA.