Pulsed-field ablations:
what we hope, what we know, what we need to find out
Pulsed field ablation (PFA) appears to be a safe, effective, and fast modality for catheter ablation of arrhythmogenic substrates in the heart. It is a non-thermal mode of injury, and instead achieves its success by membrane and organelle injury from large voltage fields (irreversible electroporation) through necrosis and apoptosis pathways. But there are many parameters that can be varied in the clinical PFA waveform, and each of these parameters influences ablation safety and efficacy. The effects of modulating PFA parameters will be discussed including the knowns and the unknowns. Preclinical and preliminary clinical experience will be reviewed. The anticipated risks and benefits of PFA will be compared to RFA and other thermal ablation modalities.
The recorded seminar can be viewed here (CRC members login needed).
