SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Feb. 12, 2025 — By now, many have seen the commercials with NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explaining the importance of seeing your doctor if you suspect you are suffering from atrial fibrillation, a condition that each year contributes to the death of nearly 158,000 Americans.
But what can doctors do about this progressively worsening condition, often called Afib, in which the heart can start beating rapidly out of control, at an irregular pace, potentially leading to heart failure or stroke?
At HonorHealth Research Institute, Cardiac Electrophysiologist Rahul Doshi, M.D., this week performed one of the nation's first procedures to control Afib using a new type of catheter that can deliver two different types of electrical energy — or ablation — to destroy the damaged part of the heart that is triggering the abnormal heartbeats. It does this without harming any of the heart's healthy tissue. Destroying the damaged tissue helps restore the heart's regular rhythm.
As part of a clinical trial, Dr. Doshi used an Abbott TactiFlex pulse field ablation (PFA) catheter — threaded from a leg though large blood vessels to the heart — to deliver a precision high-amplitude, microsecond-pulsed electric field, scarring the damaged part of the heart without the use of extreme heat or cold. Using the same catheter, he also was able to easily switch to radiofrequency ablation, which has traditionally been used to treat Afib by scarring the damaged part of the heart using heat.
"This catheter ablation system allows for the safety and efficacy of pulse field ablation while maintaining both the precision and flexibility of point-by-point ablation, and the flexibility to switch between pulse field ablation and traditional radiofrequency ablation," said Dr. Doshi, a specialist in the Research Institute's Cardiovascular Research Division.
"This provides us with an opportunity to expand the use of this ablation energy across a much broader group of patients and capitalize on better outcomes," he said. "Through clinical trials, we remain committed to advancing cutting edge technology and innovative therapy to improve patient care."
What are the symptoms of Afib
Symptomatic episodes of Afib may involve heart palpitations, fainting, lightheadedness, loss of consciousness, shortness of breath or chest pain.
The procedure, performed Feb. 11 by Dr. Doshi at HonorHealth's Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center, is the first in the Western U.S. among the clinical trial's 32 sites nationwide. The purpose of this study is to show that the new technology is well tolerated and able to treat atrial fibrillation.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AFib affects more than 10 million Americans, or nearly 4.5% of the adult U.S. population, leading annually to more than 450,000 hospitalizations and contributing to nearly 158,000 deaths.
