Pulsed Field Ablation

Doylestown Health’s Woodall Center for Heart and Vascular Care offers Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) to treat atrial fibrillation (AFib). Studies show that this next-level treatment safely eliminates abnormal electrical signals that cause an erratic heartbeat without damaging surrounding tissue.

What is Pulsed Field Ablation?

Pulsed Field Ablation is a cardiac ablation system used to treat AFib.

Also known as an irregular heartbeat or arrhythmia, AFib affects over 59 million people worldwide. AFib occurs when abnormal electrical signals cause the upper chambers of your heart to beat irregularly. This affects blood flow through your heart and can lead to serious health complications, including stroke, without early intervention.

How Does Pulsed Field Ablation Work?

During this minimally invasive procedure, your electrophysiologist (heart rhythm expert) delivers pulsed electric fields (energy) through a catheter to interrupt electrical pathways in your heart that trigger atrial fibrillation. The pulses of energy create scar tissue, which blocks the faulty signals because scar tissue does not conduct electricity.

Traditional forms of ablation use heating or cooling methods to scar the heart tissue. Pulsed Field Ablation uses a nonthermal approach and targets heart tissue without damaging the surrounding tissue in the esophagus, aorta, and lungs.

The heart continues to beat, therefore cardiopulmonary bypass is not required.