PULSED FIELD ABLATION PREVENTS LEFT ATRIAL RESTRICTIVE PHYSIOLOGY AFTER POSTERIOR WALL ISOLATION IN PATIENTS WITH PERSISTENT ATRIAL FIBRILLATION

[www.heartrhythmjournal.com]

One of the authors was my EP and he was recommended by Dr. N, and another was recommended by my local CA EP. They are supposed to be highly regarded.

Thanks, Susan. Looks promising.

Have a PFA scheduled for my persistent Afib.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/2024 07:24AM by Dini.

Thanks for posting. I can't get much from the link without a paid subscription. If you have one, could you (or anyone) paste the study here, or if not allowed, send it to me via PM. What I do know is that the first generation PFA is a very blunt instrument compared to RF, so what it can do outside the pulmonary veins is limited. Curious to see how far they have gone with it.

Jim

Quote
mjamesone
Thanks for posting. I can't get much from the link without a paid subscription. If you have one, could you (or anyone) paste the study here, or if not allowed, send it to me via PM. What I do know is that the first generation PFA is a very blunt instrument compared to RF, so what it can do outside the pulmonary veins is limited. Curious to see how far they have gone with it.

Jim

In the abstract there is a small email symbol after the authors. You might try emailing the corresponding author and see if they will send you a copy. Many times they will.

I wondered about the statement below. I had my posterior wall ablated three times. Can the fibrosis “stiffen left atrium” show on an echo? What perimeters (size thickness etc) on the echo shows fibrosis? Or only a MRI will detect it?

“However, extensive RFA of the posterior wall may cause fibrosis and “stiff-left-atrium” syndrome. 2 3 Magnetic resonance imaging after PVI demonstrates that edema and delayed enhancement are permanent after RFA, but short-lasting after pulsed field ablation (PFA).”

To see fibrosis you need an MRI with delayed enhancement. But I can't see any reason for you to undergo one. If it shows you have (or do not have) fibrosis, so what? There's nothing to be done about it. I had one prior to an ablation because the EP wanted to know how much fibrosis he was dealing with and where it was. It's a long, expensive procedure. I doubt any insurance company would pay for it without good justification.

I’m scheduled for a (insurance paid) cardiac mri. I’ll see what it says. The mri is for another cardiac reason

Thanks Carey. It’s spilled milk. But I’m curious that’s all.

This study was done for a reason so somebody thought it’s of value.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/2024 05:04PM by susan.d.

Well, if you're already going to do a cardiac MRI anyway you could ask about it.