ArticleNetherlands heart journal : monthly journal of the Netherlands Society of Cardiology and the Netherlands Heart Foundation2024
Pulsed field versus cryoballoon ablation for atrial fibrillation: a real-world observational study on procedural outcomes and efficacy.
Article in Netherlands heart journal : monthly journal of the Netherlands Society of Cardiology and the Netherlands Heart Foundation, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pulsed field ablation versus cryoballoon ablation for pulmonary vein isolation in atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis with subgroup analyses by AF type.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2026Pooled it
- Meta-Analysis of Thermal Versus Pulse Field Ablation for Pulmonary Vein Isolation Durability in Atrial Fibrillation: Insights From Repeat Ablation.Clinical cardiology · 2025Pooled it
- Pulsed Field Ablation Versus Thermal Ablation for First-Time Pulmonary Vein Isolation in Atrial Fibrillation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of arrhythmia · 2026Article
- Comparison of Two Pulsed Field Ablation Systems for Atrial Fibrillation: One-Year Outcomes From a Multicenter Registry.Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology · 2026Article
- Pulsed-field ablation versus cryoballoon ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation: A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2026Review
- Circular over-the-wire pulsed field ablation for atrial fibrillation: differences in outcomes between conscious sedation or general anesthesia.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2026Article
- Direct Comparison of Two Commercially Available Pulsed Field Ablation Systems for Atrial Fibrillation; Procedure Characteristics and Acute Outcomes.Journal of cardiovascular electrophysiology · 2025Observational
- Phrenic nerve and esophageal injury in pulsed field ablation versus radiofrequency and cryoablation.Global cardiology science & practice · 2025Review
- Effectiveness and Safety of Pulsed Field Ablation in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.JACC. Asia · 2025Article
- Advancing cardiovascular care-key insights from the Netherlands Heart Journal 2024.Netherlands heart journal : monthly journal of the Netherlands Society of Cardiology and the Netherlands Heart Foundation · 2024Article
- Phrenic nerve palsy and pulsed field ablation procedures for atrial fibrillation.Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology · 2024Article
- Pulsed-field ablation versus thermal ablation for atrial fibrillation: A meta-analysis.Heart rhythm O2 · 2024Review
- Efficacy and safety of pulsed field ablation compared to cryoballoon ablation in the treatment of atrial fibrillation: a meta-analysis.European heart journal open · 2024Article
- How to tackle the unknowns in atrial fibrillation?Netherlands heart journal : monthly journal of the Netherlands Society of Cardiology and the Netherlands Heart Foundation · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionAtrial fibrillation often necessitates catheter ablation when antiarrhythmic drug therapy fails. Single-shot technologies using thermal energy, such as cryoballoon ablation, are commonly used, but pulsed field ablation (PFA), an innovative non-thermal ablation technique, is a potential alternative. This retrospective observational study aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of cryoballoon ablation and PFA in patients undergoing their first pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) procedure for atrial fibrillation treatment.
methodsWe utilised real-world data from patients who underwent PVI using cryoballoon ablation or PFA. The primary outcome encompassed procedural complications, including phrenic nerve palsy, cardiac tamponade, thromboembolic complications, bleeding complications and mortality. Secondary outcomes were procedural characteristics including procedure duration, length of hospital admission, and re-do ablation rates within 6 months.
resultsA total of 1714 procedures were analysed: 1241 in the cryoballoon group and 473 in the PFA group. Gender distribution (p = 0.03) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (p = 0.01) differed significantly. With regard to the primary outcome, the cryoballoon group demonstrated a higher incidence of phrenic nerve palsy compared with the PFA group (15 vs 0; p = 0.02). The procedure duration was shorter in the PFA group, even after adjusting for baseline characteristics (95.0 vs 74.0 min; p < 0.001). After adjustment for baseline characteristics, admission duration differed between the groups as well (p = 0.04).
conclusionThe study results supported the safety and efficacy of PFA over cryoballoon ablation for PVI, highlighting advantages such as shorter procedure duration and absence of phrenic nerve palsy.
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