Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39960855›Full record

ArticleEuropace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology2025

Thermal side effects during pulsed field ablation: an analysis using computer modelling.

Marcela Mercado-Montoya, Tatiana Gomez-Bustamante, Steven R Mickelsen, Erik Kulstad, Ana González-Suárez, Lawrence J Overzet

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in 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, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pulsed field ablation for the interventional treatment of atrial fibrillation: a scientific statement of the European Heart Rhythm Association of the European Society of Cardiology, the Heart Rhythm Society, the Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society, the Latin American Heart Rhythm Society, and the Canadian Heart Rhythm Society.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 · 2026
    Guideline
  2. Impact of saline irrigation on haemolysis, silent cerebral lesion incidence, thermal dynamics, and bubble formation in pulsed field ablation with a variable-loop circular catheter.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 · 2026
    Trial
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Observational
  6. Gastroparesis as a potential complication of pentaspline pulsed field ablation without endoscopic esophageal injury.Journal of interventional cardiac electrophysiology : an international journal of arrhythmias and pacing · 2026
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Assessment of temperature dynamics in pulsed field ablation with a variable-loop circular catheter: a comparative analysis of waveform configurations and irrigation rates in specimens of bovine ventricular myocardium.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 · 2025
    Article
  9. Esophageal endoscopic findings after pulmonary vein and posterior wall isolation using pulsed field ablation: results from the Eso-PFA study.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 · 2025
    Observational
  10. Thermal side effects during pulsed field ablation: an analysis using computer modelling.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 · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Marcela Mercado-MontoyaBioengineering Department, IN SILICO STEM S.A.S, Calle 52 81-48, Medellín 050035, Colombia.ORCID 0000-0002-1453-4690
Tatiana Gomez-BustamanteBioengineering Department, IN SILICO STEM S.A.S, Calle 52 81-48, Medellín 050035, Colombia.ORCID 0000-0002-3947-1390
Steven R MickelsenDepartment of Electrophysiology, Scripps Health, La Jolla, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-4219-8230
Erik KulstadDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9331-8266
Ana González-SuárezBioMIT, Department of Electronic Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de València, València, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-1813-4176
Lawrence J OverzetDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7277-0387

Funding

Utility of Esophageal Cooling Therapy for the Prevention of Thermal Injury During Atrial FibrillationR44HL158375 · NHLBI · ADVANCED COOLING THERAPY, LLC · PI CALLANS, DAVID J, KULSTAD, ERIK BENJAMIN · 2021 to 2023
$3.8M
National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health R44HL158375NHLBI NIH HHS R44 HL158375NIH HHSSpanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional PID2022-136273OA-C33
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsPulsed field ablation (PFA) is described as non-thermal, but data from oncology and cardiology show thermal effects occur. The specific waveform parameters influencing thermal energy development during PFA are unclear. The aim of this study is to numerically evaluate the thermal effects of PFA on myocardial and oesophageal tissue at various peak voltage conditions. METHODS AND

resultsA three-dimensional computer model of the left atrium quantified thermal effects from PFA at peak voltages of 1, 1.5, and 2 kV. Energy was applied using a bipolar configuration with far-field and symmetry boundaries set as electrically insulating. A monophasic waveform with a 100 μs pulse width and a 1 s gap between pulses was applied for a total of 50 pulses, mimicking clinical conditions. Minimal temperature rise in the oesophagus was observed with 1 kV pulses (214.5 J). At 1.5 and 2 kV (570.3 and 1.23 kJ), temperatures reached 46.3°C and >62°C, respectively, after a single pulse train. These findings suggest that repeated applications could lead to even higher temperatures, especially if good tissue contact is obtained. These results align with data from other medical fields using pulsed field treatments.

conclusionThermal effects from PFA depend on the total energy deposited, with peak voltage being a significant factor. Current commercially available PFA systems have the potential to induce collateral thermal injury with repeated applications of pulsed field energy. This highlights the need for careful monitoring and adjustment of PFA parameters in clinical settings.

Indexed as

Atrial FibrillationCatheter AblationComputer SimulationEsophagusHeart AtriaHot TemperatureModels, CardiovascularHumansAtrial fibrillationComputational analysisIn silico modellingPulsed field energySimulationThermal ablation

Identifiers

PMID39960855
PMCPMC11879925

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.