Atrial fibrillation (AF) remains the most common cardiac arrhythmia requiring admissions in the emergency rooms in northern America and Europe. Despite the fact that pharmacological treatment may reduce its occurrence, a large number of patients remain unresponsive to the most aggressive and modern medical approaches. As a consequence, a large array of deleterious complications, such as cerebro-vascular accidents, can result from unresponsive or recurrent AF.In the last five years, countless surgical protocols have been described to treat AF. This has added to the present knowledge about AF, but also led to confusion about the real gold standard for the surgical treatment of AF. This book reorganizes and analyzes the present findings to help guide the surgical community towards a scientific approach to the surgical cure of AF. Involving an international and multidisciplinary array of scholars, it is essential reading for all cardiac surgeons with a special interest in electrophysiology. Atrial fibrillation (AF) remains the most common cardiac arrhythmia requiring admissions in the emergency rooms in northern America and Europe. Despite the fact that pharmacological treatment may reduce its occurrence, a large number of patients remain unresponsive to the most aggressive and modern medical approaches. As a consequence, a large array of deleterious complications, such as cerebro-vascular accidents, can result from unresponsive or recurrent AF.In the last five years, countless surgical protocols have been described to treat AF. This has added to the present knowledge about AF, but also led to confusion about the real gold standard for the surgical treatment of AF. This book reorganizes and analyzes the present findings to help guide the surgical community towards a scientific approach to the surgical cure of AF. Involving an international and multidisciplinary array of scholars, it is essential reading for all cardiac surgeons.