Persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) is commonly managed with antiarrhythmic drugs before considering catheter ablation. However, whether pulsed field ablation (PFA) should be used as a first-line treatment remains uncertain. To address this question, a clinical study evaluated the safety and efficacy of initial PFA compared with antiarrhythmic drug therapy in 207 patients with persistent AF.
The study found that PFA was significantly more effective than antiarrhythmic drug therapy in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation. At 12 months, treatment success was achieved in 128 of 207 patients in the PFA group, compared with 40 of 103 patients in the antiarrhythmic-drug group, corresponding to a 54% lower risk of treatment failure (hazard ratio, 0.46). Primary safety events occurred in 13 of 257 patients (5.1%) undergoing PFA, while serious adverse events at 12 months were reported in…
