Abstract：Catheter ablation has become the main treatment for atrial fibrillation. However complications such as stroke and embolism may be resulted from catheter ablation, especially silent cerebral embolism (SCE), which can affect nerve function and lead to cognitive dysfunction. Therefore, it is of great clinical significance to prevent and reduce SCE during perioperative period of catheter ablation. This paper systematically reviews the definition, incidence, sites, clinical manifestations, mechanism and risk factors of SCE, and the influence of different ablation methods on SCE, in order to improve clinicians’ understandings of SCE, and prevent and reduce its incidence after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation.
