Study shows positive results with HeartLight EAS (CardioFocus) for Atrial Fibrillation

A new study demonstrates high acute success (98%) and durable pulmonary vein (PV) isolation rates in the treatment of Atrial Fibrillation, using the HeartLight EAS ablation system, from CardioFocus. HeartLight Endoscopic Ablation System incorporates an illuminating endoscope to provide physicians with direct visualization within a beating heart, in real time and without radiation. To determine durability, the study involved a subsequent diagnostic remapping procedure that found 86% of PVs remained electrically isolated after three months. The multicentre study, led by Srinivas R. Dukkipati, MD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, looked at the first 56 patients treated with HeartLight EAS by 10 primary operators at three European sites. At approximately three months follow-up, 52 patients returned for a remapping procedure to reconfirm electrical isolation, in which researchers found 86% of PVs remained isolated. At an average follow-up of one year, 71% of patients remained free from AF and off anti-arrhythmic drugs. Notably, after performing only 10 cases, physicians began to see improved outcomes. See: "The Durability of Pulmonary Vein Isolation Using the Visually-Guided Laser Balloon Catheter: Multicenter Results of Pulmonary Vein Remapping Studies," Srinivas R. Dukkipati et al. Heart Rhythm Volume 9, Issue 6 , Pages 919-925, June 2012