MercyOne Iowa Heart Center Helps Develop New Technology for Safer Treatment for People with Afib
Technology comes full circle from research to use in patient care
April 3, 2024
Mohit Chawla, MD, Electrophysiologist, MercyOne Iowa Heart Center, performed the first commercial (FDA-approved) FARAPULSE™ pulse field ablation case in central Iowa at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center on March 11, 2024.
A new FDA-approved treatment for atrial fibrillation, a common heart condition impacting millions of Americans, is now available and being performed by physicians at MercyOne Iowa Heart Center. Electrophysiologists at the center participated in the clinic research trials that helped develop and refine this safer, more efficient technology and bring it to local patients.
“This is the most exciting and revolutionary thing to happen to the field of electrophysiology in the last decade,” said Troy Hounshell, DO, Electrophysiologist, MercyOne Iowa Heart Center. “It is the new standard of care and way of treating patients with atrial fibrillation needing an ablation for treatment.”
The new FDA-approved technology from Boston Scientific called FARAPULSE™ Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) System destroys that unwanted tissue in a new way, using pulsed electric fields.
During a traditional ablation procedure, a catheter is guided to the interior of the heart and generates extreme temperatures – hot or cold – to destroy targeted areas in the heart associated with abnormal heart rhythms. The FARAPULSE PFA System, however, relies on tissue selective, non-thermal electric fields to ablate heart tissue and avoid damage to surrounding structures.
“You ablate this tissue using electrical fields, without heating or cooling the tissue significantly,” Hounshell said. “We are among the first centers to use this technology and were a part of the clinical research trials.”
The new technique uses electric pulses, which Hounshell said is safer and more efficient than previous techniques which were either hot or cold, radio frequency & cryotherapy.
“With this groundbreaking technology, there is less potential for collateral damage to other structures in the chest such as the esophagus that sometimes can be damaged by thermal energy,” said Hounshell. “It affects the cardiac tissue differently than other tissue so we can effectively ablate areas of the heart without concerns of damaging nearby structures.”
Atrial fibrillation, an irregular and often very rapid heart rhythm, affects more than 5 million Americans and is rapidly increasing in incidence. Atrial fibrillation is associated with poor quality of life, stroke, heart failure, and death.
The FARAPULSE™ PFA System is currently available as an ablation treatment option for patients with atrial fibrillation at MercyOne Iowa Heart Center and MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center.
Mohit Chawla, MD, Electrophysiologist, MercyOne Iowa Heart Center, performed the first commercial (FDA-approved) FARAPULSE™ pulse field ablation case in central Iowa at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center on March 11, 2024.
“Our patients deserve access to state-of-the-art technology and evidence based medicine and we are pleased to offer this new therapy for patients with atrial fibrillation and help restore their health,” said Hounshell.
About MercyOne Iowa Heart Center MercyOne Iowa Heart Center, founded in 1970 and a member of MercyOne, is one of the nation’s premier cardiovascular medicine practices. With clinics and offices in Des Moines, Ames, Ankeny, Carroll, Fort Dodge, Newton, and Ottumwa, MercyOne Iowa Heart Center’s physicians and staff are committed to providing world-class heart care, research and prevention services to Iowa families. Learn more at IowaHeart.com.
About MercyOne MercyOne is a connected system of health care facilities and services dedicated to helping people and communities live their best life. MercyOne’s care providers and staff make health the highest priority. The system’s clinics, medical centers, hospitals and affiliates are located throughout the state of Iowa and beyond. Headquartered in central Iowa, MercyOne is a member of Trinity Health (based in Livonia, Michigan) – one of the largest not-for-profit Catholic health care systems in the nation. Learn more at MercyOne.org.
About the FARAPULSE Pulsed Field Ablation System The FARAPULSE PFA System is a unique new alternative to standard-of-care thermal ablation. A non-thermal approach for the treatment of drug-refractory, recurrent, symptomatic, paroxysmal (i.e., intermittent) atrial fibrillation (AF), it is proven to be an effective treatment option for patients while minimizing risks associated with thermal ablation.
During a traditional ablation procedure, a catheter is guided to the interior of the heart and generates extreme temperatures – hot or cold – to destroy targeted areas in the heart associated with abnormal heart rhythms. The FARAPULSE PFA System, however, relies on tissue selective, non-thermal electric fields to ablate heart tissue and avoid damage to surrounding structures.
Positive 12-month data from the pivotal ADVENT clinical trial – the first randomized clinical trial to directly compare the efficacy and safety of the system against standard-of-care ablation – found that therapy with the device was as safe and effective as conventional thermal ablation, with statistically shorter ablation times and a quicker learning curve for physicians. Additional real-world data from more than 17,000 patients in the MANIFEST-17K registry demonstrated continued real-world safety of the system, with no reports of permanent phrenic nerve palsy, pulmonary vein stenosis or esophageal injury.
About Atrial Fibrillation Atrial fibrillation (AF) occurs when the top two chambers of the heart, the atria, beat too fast and with an irregular rhythm (fibrillation). AF, the most common type of arrhythmia, can decrease the heart’s pumping efficiency, which can cause blood cells to pool and stick together, forming clots in the heart, and lead to stroke. People with AF have a higher risk of stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications than those with normal heart rhythms. AF affects nearly two percent of the general population worldwide1, and approximately seven million Americans live with this arrhythmia. An estimated 38 million people globally have AF.
