Abbott has announced the availability in Spain of its pulsed field ablation (PFA) system, a new technology expanding treatment options for atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common type of heart arrhythmia.
The condition affects approximately one million people in Spain, with around 100,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Prevalence reaches 4% of the adult population and as high as 15% in those over 85 years old. This news offers hope for a significant portion of the population experiencing this increasingly prevalent heart condition.
Atrial fibrillation is associated with a higher risk of stroke, embolism, heart failure, and mortality. When medications and other treatments fail to control the disease, many patients turn to minimally invasive cardiac ablation to interrupt the abnormal electrical impulses that cause the arrhythmia.
Atrial fibrillation is associated with a higher risk of stroke, embolism, heart failure and mortality
The system’s balloon in basket design offers different handling options, facilitates leverage, and allows for efficient energy transfer to the target tissue to interrupt the heart’s abnormal electrical signals.
A key advantage of the system is that it allows the procedure to be performed with conscious sedation instead of general anesthesia, a significant advancement for patients for whom the latter may be a barrier. It also reduces exposure to radiation and limits hemolysis associated with other techniques.
“The use of this system represents a qualitative leap in the management of atrial fibrillation in Spain. Atrial fibrillation can cause breathing difficulties, dizziness and chest pain. Patients with untreated arrhythmias are exposed to a higher risk of stroke and heart attack,” said Dr. José Merino, head of the Robotized Arrhythmias and Cardiac Electrophysiology Unit at La Paz University Hospital.
“With the use of technology like this, we offer our patients a system that overcomes many of the limitations of previous options and in our hospital we are already seeing particularly promising results,” he added.
One of the main advantages of the system is that it allows the procedure to be performed with conscious sedation instead of general anesthesia
Similarly, Dr. Ignasi Anguera, director of the Electrophysiology and Arrhythmias Unit at Bellvitge University Hospital, noted that “pulsed field ablation is changing the therapeutic paradigm by creating very selective lesions through electrical pulses, reducing the risk to adjacent tissues in complex anatomies.”
He explained, “with this new technology we grab a step towards more predictable and safer procedures and with the option of conscious sedation, key factors to improve the patient experience and team efficiency.”
“Pulsed field ablation reduces the risk to adjacent tissues in complex anatomies,” said Dr. Ignasi Anguera
Jaime To, general manager of electrophysiology at Abbott Iberia, highlighted that “we have listened to doctors and patients need an alternative to general anesthesia during a PFA ablation procedure without sacrificing solid results.”
he added that “the PFA system is an option for patients who prefer conscious sedation, which can also accelerate recovery and shorten the duration of procedures for people suffering from cardiac arrhythmias in Spain.”
