Arrhythmias & electrophysiology
The effect of pulmonary vein isolation on gastric motility: Pulsed field ablation vs radiofrequency
Authors' conclusion
PFA causes significantly less damage to gastric motility than RFA during PVI, which translates into an improved quality of life for patients.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing pulmonary vein isolation (PVI)
- Participants
- 28 patients
- Exposure
- PFA-PVI vs RFA-PVI
- PFA-PVIn = 14
- RFA-PVIn = 14reference
- Outcome
- Gastric motility (gastric emptying rate of nondigestible radiopaque markers 5 hours after ingestion, and related symptoms)
- Follow-up
- 48 hours after ablation
Methodological detailsage- and sex-matched, parallel controls
- Age- and sex-matched
- Parallel controls
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Gastric emptying rate (GER), before vs 48 h after ablation
- Gastric emptying rate (GER) unchanged after pulsed field ablation (PFA) (before vs after: 77.9% ± 32.9% vs 78.6% ± 29.0%)
- P = .98
- GER decreased after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) (before vs after: 78.6% ± 24.2% vs 66.1% ± 30.2%)
- P < .05
- Change in GER significantly greater after RFA than PFA (12.5% ± 24.1% vs −0.7% ± 27.1%)
- P < .05
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
New-onset delayed gastric emptying
Post-procedural gastrointestinal symptom scores
- Worsened significantly only in the RFA group
Safety
- Acute PVI achieved without major complications in both groups
Original publication
The effect of pulmonary vein isolation on gastric motility: Pulsed field ablation vs radiofrequency. Heart Rhythm. Published 27 November 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →