Cooled ablation

Research on cooled ablation has been evolving for the last 10 years. Findings and current applications are reviewed. A cooled ablation catheter is approved by the FDA for use in idiopathic ventricular tachycardia (VT) patients, based on data originally submitted by Cardiac Pathways, Inc. This technology has subsequently been used by the clinicians in atrial flutter cases, nonischemic VT, epicardial accessory pathways, and atrial fibrillation. The experience at Johns Hopkins suggests that cooled radiofrequency ablation has utility in a variety of situations and in some instances has come to be the ablation system of choice.