Cerebral safety after pulsed field ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

Pulsed field ablation (PFA) is a novel, nonthermal ablation modality that can ablate myocardial tissue with minimal effects on surrounding tissue. Preclinical data show an absence of cerebral emboli after extensive PFA. However, clinical data on silent cerebral lesions (SCLs) and/or silent cerebral events (SCEs) after PFA are lacking.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the occurrence of neurological deficits and SCL and/or SCE after PFA in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) using National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

In patients with symptomatic paroxysmal AF, pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) using PFA was performed. NIHSS scores were assessed before and 2 days and 30 days after PVI. One day after PVI, patients underwent cerebral 1.5-T MRI scanning using diffusion-weighted imaging and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery sequences to document the occurrence of SCL/SCE.

PFA was performed in 30 patients (age 63 ± 10 years). No patient showed neurological deficits. All NIHSS scores showed the minimum value of 0. Cerebral MRI scans were normal in 29 of 30 patients (97%). In 1 patient (3%), a single 7-mm cerebellar lesion was observed. Forty days after the procedure, follow-up cerebral MRI scan showed complete regression of the lesion.

In patients treated with PFA for symptomatic paroxysmal AF, the incidence of MRI-detected asymptomatic thromboembolic cerebral events or lesions was as low as 3%. No neurological deficits occurred in any of the patients.