Catheter ablation
Catheter ablation is considered today as the gold standard treatment for arrhythmias. This minimally invasive procedure may be proposed as a first-line treatment for many arrhythmias.
History of Ablation:
The first ablation techniques were developed at the University Hospital of Bordeaux starting in 1992, initially for the treatment of Atrial Flutter, and later in the late 1990s for the treatment of Atrial Fibrillation.
The principle of ablation is to neutralize abnormal electrical activity in specific areas of the heart muscle where short circuits sometimes occur.
Ablation therapy is the gold standard curative treatment for arrhythmias, particularly for common flutter or other arrhythmias.
Catheter ablation is performed worldwide in healthcare facilities with accreditation, such as the American Hospital of Paris.
In France, the development of new technologies for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias remains a priority.
The 3 main energies in Interventional Electrophysiology are:
Radiofrequency Ablation:
It's a treatment for arrhythmia using heat to deactivate pathological areas of the heart.
A 3D mapping system is used to create an automatic electrical map of the treated cardiac cavity. This allows precise visualization and localization of dysfunctional cardiac areas to guide ablation in these zones.
The use of advanced mapping in arrhythmia treatment improves treatment efficacy and significantly reduces the risk of complications.
Radiofrequency catheter ablation is generally considered the reference technique in the treatment of all types of arrhythmias.
Cryoablation :
It is the treatment of arrhythmia using cold (-70°C) to inactivate pathological areas of the heart. This technique is used particularly for the treatment of certain arrhythmias such as paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.
Electrical mapping of the heart is not performed during cryotherapy ablation, which makes the treatment of arrhythmias more complex (persistent atrial fibrillation or ventricular arrhythmias), and less optimal.
Electroporation:
It is the treatment of arrhythmia using high-voltage electric fields to deactivate pathological arrhythmogenic areas of the heart. This ablation technique is relatively new in the field of interventional electrophysiology and is currently under evaluation on a national and international scale for the treatment of certain arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation.
For more information, please find the consents from the French Society of Cardiology (SFC) on ablation.