Pulsed Field Ablation
Washington Regional is the first and only hospital in Northwest Arkansas to offer a new technology to treat patients with atrial fibrillation, also called AFib. The FARAPULSE™ Pulsed Field Ablation System offers a new approach to cardiac ablation, a recommended treatment for AFib which has been offered by electrophysiologists at Washington Regional’s Walker Heart Institute for 25 years.
Atrial fibrillation is a type of irregular heartbeat caused when the atria, or upper chambers of the heart, beat irregularly due to disorganized electrical signals in the heart. Symptoms of AFib include feeling dizzy or lightheaded, shortness of breath, fatigue and feeling like your heart is racing or fluttering. The condition can increase your risk of blood clots, stroke, heart failure and dementia. Lifestyle changes, such as exercising and eating healthy, and medications can help manage AFib. But people who still experience symptoms may need a procedure called a cardiac ablation.
Cardiac ablation targets and destroys the malfunctioning heart cells that cause the irregular rhythm. Traditionally, ablation was done by using hot or cold energy to burn or freeze malfunctioning cells. Pulsed field ablation works differently by delivering targeted pulses of intense energy to the malfunctioning cells without damaging other tissue.
During the procedure, a catheter is inserted into a vein and guided to the heart. When the heart tissue that is causing the arrhythmia is located, energy pulses are sent through the catheter, making the tissue incapable of causing AFib.
PFA offers several benefits. The energy pulses can be carefully controlled to target only the heart cells, protecting the surrounding tissue. The ablation procedure can also be done in a shorter time, which means less time under anesthesia for patients. Most patients will go home the same day as their procedure.
Following AFib ablation, up to 80% of patients had no recurrence of AFib within a year, and more than 70% were able to stop taking heart rhythm medications.