Photo courtesy of Saint Francis Hospital.
More than 5 million people in the United States have atrial fibrillation, a quivering or irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart complications, according to the study. American Heart Association. By 2030, projections indicate that approximately 12 million people will have atrial fibrillation, an increase driven by the growing number of older adults in the United States.
In late 2024, Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, treated its first patient with pulsed-field ablation (PFA), a new technology that delivers pulsed electric fields to tissues to manage atrial fibrillation. The FDA approved the first PFA system (PulseSelect, Medtronic) in December 2023 to treat paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation.
Current ablation technologies use heat, which risks damaging adjacent structures in the heart. PFA is a revolutionary technology that isolates the pulmonary veins for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. “As the mechanism of cell death is not thermal, the risk of collateral damage to the structure is potentially lower,” notes a researcher. Press release from Saint-Francis Hospital.
William Gionfriddo, MD, an electrophysiologist at Saint Francis, sees new technology as another way to innovate and improve patient care. “By adding this offering to our toolbox, we can hope to help advance the future of atrial fibrillation treatment for people in the greater Hartford area,” Gionfriddo said.