EP Fellows Curriculum: AF Ablation - A look at Balloon Technologies-AF Ablation

Video Transcription

Video Summary

In this video transcript, Dr. Eric Buch gives an overview of the use of balloon technologies in AFib ablation procedures. He discusses the importance of isolating the pulmonary veins during the procedure and how balloon technologies are designed for this purpose. He specifically focuses on two FDA-approved balloon technologies, the laser balloon and the cryo balloon. The laser balloon uses heat to create lesions in the heart tissue and has a unique feature of a tiny endoscope embedded into the catheter, allowing the operator to directly see the target tissue. The cryo balloon, on the other hand, uses cold energy to freeze the tissue and create lesions. Dr. Buch discusses the non-inferior results of the Fire and Ice trial, which compared the cryo balloon to RF ablation, and highlights the lower rate of reconnections and repeat ablations seen with the cryo balloon. He also discusses the importance of timing in the cryo balloon procedure, with variations in freeze times depending on the vein being ablated. Dr. Buch concludes by mentioning the potential future advancements in balloon technologies, such as pulse-field ablation, and highlights the role of balloon technologies in AFib ablation procedures, providing an easier learning curve for EP fellows and shorter procedure times for the lab.

Keywords

balloon technologies

AFib ablation procedures

pulmonary veins isolation

laser balloon

cryo balloon

heat-based ablation

cold-based ablation

Fire and Ice trial

RF ablation