I only spent a few months on it, but I found that the longer you take it, the more effective it becomes. And that's exactly what others who'd been on it told me to expect. I think it's a pretty good bet it will continue to work for you until next summer.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I have had 2 previous ablations {last ablation in Dec 22} but still suffer from tachycardia/flutter. Sotalol and Multaq stopped working and I started dofetilide in the beginng of June. I have not experienced any episodes and so far I have tolerated the drug very well. I have another ablation scheduled in November of this year to hopefully address tachycardia/flutter. With PFA hopefully approvedby triplea - AFIBBERS FORUM
I came here today to pose a question about any potential risks with PEMF (pulsed electro magnetic field) therapy and atrial fibrillation.. To my surprise the question was asked last week!!! However, the question evolved into a discussion on another topic. So want to raise the question again. I am a 76 year old aging athlete who has developed arthritis over the years as a result of playingby JAYHAWK - AFIBBERS FORUM
This was discussed a year ago as well when the technology was newer.by susan.d - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi hds Congrats, that's fantastic news. Are you on a trial? If you don't mind me asking, how do you go about researching PFA in Amsterdam. I was aware of PFA studies in Bordeaux, and the Czech Repuplic. Good luckby Aoife5 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Hi SamlAm, My EP said he would not recommend it for me as I was not persistent, This trial was sponsored by Farapulse from Boston Scientific. I was only diagnosed early February and the trial had closed at the that stage. I had thought about going to Bordeaux, In the following months everything was a trigger, tea, salt, sugar, cold drinks, chocolate, I was walking on egg shells. Nine episodesby Aoife5 - AFIBBERS FORUM
Is there any particular approach to get in on a Pulsed Field Ablation trial? Carey kindly provided this list of trials. I'm in Canada, so the one I'm most interested in is the one at McGill. I've tried to go through the phone system, but no luck. I tried emailing the kardium email adress provided, but no reply. Is there some particular channel you go through to get in on a trial? Aby SamIAm - AFIBBERS FORUM
Quotehds Is there anyone on the forum who already had PFA? Any experiences? There is a search of our site of the PFA topic in my post here.by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
I just got approved for PFA in Amsterdam UMC (University Medical Center). I have a standing appointment for thermal ablation here in the Pacific Northwest, but the risk profile is astoundingly better for PFA and it reaches the same benchmark for success as thermal, which prompted me to make an appointment in Amsterdam. Heart Rhythm TV Update: Breaking News from ACC.23 - PULSED AF Trial 40 mby hds - AFIBBERS FORUM
You can get one in the UK now for between 14-20K. Also in France.by mjamesone - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteMarco If I'm understanding well. an ablation is basically either burning or freezing the tissue in the heart that causes the arrythmia, does that mean there is an irregularity of the shape of the tissue then? There is a newcomer, pulse field ablation or PFA. Here is a search on our site. I'd start with moderator Shannon's posts here. Read Shannon's posts in reversby GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
Carey and Daisy, thank you for all the info. Your recommendation of Dr Natale was pivotol for me, as it getting me looing into top electrophysiologists and what is the latest and greatest in the field. I am totally sold on the idea of pulsed field ablation. It makes so much sense to me to avoid the colateral dammage of regular thermal ablations (I wonder if PFA is what you both got seeing as Nataby SamIAm - AFIBBERS FORUM
That's great. Did you contact them to get into the trial? Given it was a trial, were they strict about just doing the PVI with PFA and nothing else, or were they thorough, for instance looking for other sources of PACs etc.? I'm thinking about maybe getting in touch with one of the trials, would want them to address flutter too at the same time if possible, but I might not meet the drugby SamIAm - AFIBBERS FORUM
I just received the Globe pulsed field ablation from Kardium in NYCv a couple of weeks ago. It's on the list that Carey sent. It is said to be a very good system.by Johnnyk80 - AFIBBERS FORUM
There are acceptions though, like the pfizer vaccine I think... I'm surprised Europe is ahead on so much stuff because it seems like they are more conservative on so many things...by SamIAm - AFIBBERS FORUM
Canadian health authorities piggy-back on the American lead in medicine just as the Government and Military structure and policies piggy-back on the Americans' versions. IOW, conveniently after all the heavy lifting has been done by our cousins down south, we'll endorse X procedure and YH and Z drugs or vaccines as soon as the FDA or CDC announce their policies on the subjects. Since tby gloaming - AFIBBERS FORUM
Interesting, there is one option I could go for there, thank you. I thought I had seen somewhere that it was already approved in Canada, but I'm not finding that now... I had though if so then there would be some electrophysiologists already doing it as part of their regular practice. But perhaps I was mistaken...by SamIAm - AFIBBERS FORUM
There are several PFA trials in Canada that are currently recruiting.by Carey - AFIBBERS FORUM
I'm wondering if anyone here knows if there are any electrophysiologists in Canada that are doing pulsed field ablation yet. Dr Atul Verma was doing it for a while, but looks like he has stopped working now...by SamIAm - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteSamIAm That's awesome. This is what I had read elsewhere, that HRV recovers. It's just a bit concerning when the article says "cannot be interpreted as restoration of left atrial autonomic innervation back to the preablation baseline". In my case, my HRV was slightly higher right after the RF ablation and slowly increased in the months after—it is now about 5 points hiby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
I hadn't seen that thread, thanks, I wonder if the posterior wall was done with PFA. I did see another thread where flutter was dealt with separately with RF in same procedure as PFA for PVI. ... I'm in an odd situation where I rarely go into afib/flutter but just have lots of runs of PACs, not sure if PFA would be used for that...by SamIAm - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteSamIAm Maybe one disadvantage is that current PFA tools aren't very versatile, where they are just used for PVI, but not for flutter or other troublesome spots.... That may be just in some of the trials. See this post: "I had a PFA last year with Dr Natale in Austin; he ablated the pulmonary veins as well as the posterior wall. PVI + posterior wall is his standard procedure.by GeorgeN - AFIBBERS FORUM
That's awesome. This is what I had read elsewhere, that HRV recovers. It's just a bit concerning when the article says "cannot be interpreted as restoration of left atrial autonomic innervation back to the preablation baseline". I'll have to try to get the full paper... So far what I've read is that PFA doesn't affect HRV at all, so at least in that respect it sby SamIAm - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteSamIAm One of the things that has freaked me out about getting a thermal ablation (besides risks like Atrio-Esophageal Fistula) is the supposed drop in heart rate variability after the ablation. Supposedly it recovers in 3-6 months, but this article seems to suggest possible permanent impact on autonomic inervation. And given low heart rate variability is a predictor of developing afib in thby Daisy - AFIBBERS FORUM
One of the things that has freaked me out about getting a thermal ablation (besides risks like Atrio-Esophageal Fistula) is the supposed drop in heart rate variability after the ablation. Supposedly it recovers in 3-6 months, but this article seems to suggest possible permanent impact on autonomic inervation. And given low heart rate variability is a predictor of developing afib in the first placby SamIAm - AFIBBERS FORUM
I personally saw one of these presenters for a consultation and he told me that my case was too complex for him. So not sure if all of these folks are at the same level of expertise - especially in complex cases. Even the top EP's do not always get the results hoped for - as good as Natale is, he still has his share of do overs. My last ablation "touch up" number 2 - 4 yby sldabrowski - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteSailorGuy1 I feel great! AFIB free, no complications. Iam very great full I found this group that lead me to seek expert level care at TCAI and Dr Natale; PFA was a big plus. May I ask which device did they use for your procedure? FARAPULSE Pulsed Field Ablation System or Globe Pulsed Field System? I wonder what's the difference between these two systems, is one better than the othby Yuxi - AFIBBERS FORUM
QuoteRothko Thanks susan.d & Daisy for your helpful information. As of 4/20/23 ClinicalTrials.gov lists only 1 PFA study in the U.S. that is currently recruiting participants: A Prospective Single Arm Open Label Study of the FARAPULSE Pulsed Field Ablation System in Subjects With Persistent Atrial Fibrillation (ADVANTAGE AF), in which Dr. Vivek Reddy at Mt. Sinai is a principal investigator.by susan.d - AFIBBERS FORUM
Thanks susan.d & Daisy for your helpful information. As of 4/20/23 ClinicalTrials.gov lists only 1 PFA study in the U.S. that is currently recruiting participants: A Prospective Single Arm Open Label Study of the FARAPULSE Pulsed Field Ablation System in Subjects With Persistent Atrial Fibrillation (ADVANTAGE AF), in which Dr. Vivek Reddy at Mt. Sinai is a principal investigator. A second stby Rothko - AFIBBERS FORUM
A family member with AFib needs an ablation and is very interested the PFA procedure. We are aware that although PFA catheter systems by Medtronic and Boston Scientific have been approved for use in Europe, no PFA devices have yet been approved by the FDA for use in the U.S. We are looking for a clinical trial that my AFibber could possibly join. There is a PFA study listed on ClinicalTrials.gby Rothko - AFIBBERS FORUM