Cryotherapy for Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation

A multisite study is being conducted to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of cryotherapy in treating atrial fibrillation (AT). Participants include the London Health Sciences Center, the Ottawa Heart Institute, and the Montreal Heart Institute (all in Canada). The trial involved the first use of cryotherapy in the pulmonary veins to treat AF, using the catheter system of CryoCath Technologies Inc. (Kirkland, Canada), called Freezor.

Using the Freezor system, which can generate temperatures as low as -750 C inside a beating heart, a doctor was able to electrically isolate the right superior pulmonary vein by creating a circumferential series of lesions at the ostium. Afterward, electrical isolation of the vein from the left atrium was confirmed. It is widely believed that a large part of AF is caused by triggers inside the pulmonary veins and that AF can be effectively cured by preventing these electrical triggers from reaching the left atrium.

"Angiographic studies immediately after the ablation procedure showed no evidence of stenosis or obvious thrombus, reinforcing our belief that freezing the pulmonary veins can also be done safely,” said Dr. Allan Skanes, who performed the procedure.



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