VIDEO: The future of electrophysiology: Reviewing key trends in PFA

Pulsed field ablation (PFA) was by far the most discussed technology at Heart Rhythm 2024, the annual meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society. There were five late-breaking clinical studies regarding PFA, and many more PFA presentations in sessions. 

Vivek Reddy, MD, director of cardiac arrhythmia service and the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust Professor of Medicine in Cardiac Electrophysiology at Mount Sinai in New York, was involved in four of the five late-breakers and has been at the forefront of PFA research. He spoke to Cardiovascular Business about the new data presented at HRS and what it means for clinical practice. 

Overall outcomes from studies show the efficacy is about the same between established ablation catheter technologies and PFA, but Reddy said PFA excels in safety and speed.

"Esophageal damage is quite rare, probably on the order of less than one in 1,000, but when it happens, it's a 50% mortality. So I think having that peace of mind is very important for physicians and patients alike. And then the workflow is much quicker. I'm not just talking about quicker in terms of 5-10% quicker, I mean, oftentimes 50% or even more quicker to do a procedure with PFA than with thermal ablation," Reddy explained.