Catheter ablation

In cases where electrical cardioversion or long-term medications are not effective, ablation provides a minimally invasive treatment alternative. Catheter ablation has emerged as a standard procedure for managing atrial fibrillation. Ever since its development, this treatment option has been successfully applied to help millions of patients worldwide.

During the ablation procedure, a catheter is inserted into the patient’s blood vessels. The catheter is carefully guided to the left atrium in the heart, where it is used to apply heat or extreme cold to destroy muscular tissue and replace it by scar tissue. These scars isolate and contain abnormal electrical activity causing the abnormal heart rhythm. Most of the abnormal electrical impulses are detected at the orifice of the pulmonary veins.

At afreeze, we offer the coolloop® cryoablation system, using cryoenergy to create wide and complete circular lesions around the pulmonary veins. The coolloop® cryoablation system consists of a console, a catheter with a loop-shaped cryo-applicator, and a sheath. The catheter is introduced into the patient’s femoral vein and advanced to the atria. The tip of the catheter is positioned inside the pulmonary vein so that the cryo-applicator can be rotated at the pulmonary vein ostia. Several freeze cycles can be performed in different positions of the catheter in order to achieve electrical isolation of all the pulmonary veins.