In the last two years, a number of land-mark clinical trials have been published which further our understanding and clinical management of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Two of the major goals in the treatment of this condition include reducing pro-gression or recurrence of the arrhythmia and decrea-sing the risk of cardiovascular events, thereby impro-ving quality of life and decreasing morbidity. Following on from a large body of evidence from pre-clinical studies, small clinical trials and meta-analyses sugges-ting that blockade of the renin-angiotensin system has beneficial effects on the pathophysiology of AF,