Cryoablation Found Effective for Atrial Flutter

Studies conducted by Italian researchers have shown a success rate of 90-100% when treating typical atrial flutter with cryoablation. The abstracts were presented at the annual International Workshop on Arrhythmias in Venice (Italy).

Of 143 patients, 130 had atrial flutter, of whom 103 were treated with the Freezor Xtra and 27 with the Freezor Max ablation catheters of CryoCath Technologies, Inc. (Montreal, Canada). The results showed the Xtra had an acute success rate of 90%, on a par with radiofrequency (RF) ablation results. The study center was able to improve the success rate to 100% with Max. CryoCath states that by providing the optimal amount of refrigerant over a larger tip, Freezor Max allows doctors to make larger, deeper lesions. It is better suited to treat arrhythmias such as atrial flutter and prevalent left-sided arrhythmias, the company notes, where a more powerful lesion-making catheter is required for anatomical reasons.

"Our center has now performed a total of 31 flutter ablation cases using Freezor Max with a 100% acute success rate,” said Dr. A.S. Montenero of the Policlinico MultiMedica (Milan, Italy). "Our overall success rate with cryoablation is similar to RF ablation, but with the advent of Freezor Max, it's now trending much higher.”




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