The electrophysiology team from New England Heart & Vascular Institute (NEHVI) performed the first Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) procedure in New Hampshire as part of a new clinical trial. Patients who have treatment-resistant atrial fibrillation (AF) typically undergo an ablation. This is a non-surgical procedure used to correct various heart rhythm abnormalities such as AF. (AF affects nearly sixmillion Americans. These patients are five times more likely to have a stroke.) During an ablation, a thin, flexible tube called a catheter is inserted into a blood vessel in the patient’s groin and fed to the inside of the heart. In a traditional ablation, extreme temperatures, either hot or cold, are used to eliminate the targeted heart tissue causing the irregular heartbeats. With the experimental PFA approach, the physician can selectively ablate heart tissue without affecting other critical surrounding structures such as the esophagus or major nerves, a potential issue with standard ablation procedures. NEHVI is participating in the ADVENT Trial which compares use of the FARAPULSE PFA System with traditional ablation in treatment of patients with difficult to treat AF. Click here for additional information on the exciting research happening at CMC. Pictured above: The procedure was performed by NEHVI’s Connor Haugh, MD, FACC, FHRS and Jamie Kim, MD, FACC. Also pictured are Clinical Research Coordinator Beth Cornelius, Electrophysiology Lab Manager Rich Koeblin, RCES and members of the FARAPULSE team.