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On March 6, 2024, Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute (BGMC/GVI) completed our first cardiac ablation procedure using the new FARAPULSE™ Pulsed Field Ablation System for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). Used extensively across the globe, this technology is designed to provide Pulsed Field Ablation therapy to treat patients with paroxysmal AF, which causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate.
Chee Kim, MD, and Ashish Bhatia, MD, electrophysiologists at Great Lakes Cardiovascular and BGMC/GVI, were the first physicians to employ the new technology. BGMC/GVI is the first hospital between Cleveland and New York City and one of only 10 hospitals in the Northeast to use this technology.
“Having been in EP practice for close to 20 and 30 years, we have never been more excited about a new technology than pulsed field ablation,” said Dr. Kim and Dr. Bhatia. “More than 70% of our practice involves managing atrial fibrillation patients. Being able to offer this groundbreaking technology to our patients in Western New York before 99% of hospitals in the country have access to it is very satisfying and reflective of our mission at the GVI. It is by far the safest and most effective tool for treating patients with atrial fibrillation.”
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.
To learn more, visit https://www.bostonscientific.com/en-US/products/catheters--ablation/farapulse.html.
