Comparison of Cryoballoon and Radiofrequency Ablation of Pulmonary Veins in 40 Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation: A Case‐Control Study

Abstract

PV ablation with the cryoballoon technique is feasible and seems to have a similar success rate in comparison to RF ablation. Procedure- and fluoroscopy duration are not longer than in conventional RF ablation.

Predictors of atrial fibrillation recurrence after atrial fibrillation ablation with cryoballoon

“…Balloon-based cryoenergy for PVI simplifies the reliable creation of a complete circumferential lesion around the pulmonary veins (PV) with only a limited number of applications. Cryoballoon ablation is safe, and has a similar success rate, when compared to RF ablation with comparable procedure and fluoroscopy times in patients suffering from PAF [4]. However, reported 1 year success rates are limited to 60-74% [5][6][7][8].…”

The Use of Cryoballoon Ablation in Atrial Fibrillation: Simplifying Pulmonary Vein Isolation?

“…Kühne et al 22 reported a success rate of 71% at 1 year follow up too. Linhart and colleagues 23 found a success rate of about 50% at 1 year of follow-up, a value significantly inferior to the expectations: they explained this finding with the fact that the blanking period in their study was of only 4 weeks.…”

“…For example, In a recent publication, 23 comparing cryoballoon technology with RF ablation in a group of patients affected by paroxysmal AF, right phrenic nerve palsy occurred in about 11% of patients un-…”

Design and Baseline Patient Characteristics of the Prospective, Observational, Multicenter and Multinational Cohort Study Comparing Radiofrequency with Cryoablation for Pulmonary Vein Isolation in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation—The Freeze Cohort Study

“…The most common complication of the cryoablation technique is the phrenic nerve palsy (PNP), and PNP incidences up to 13% have been reported [10]. However, PNP appears to be a transient event in the vast majority of cases with a complete recovery within 12 months [8]- [15] [20]- [25]. Nevertheless, any effort has to be done to reduce the risk of PNP, which can be achieved by continuously monitoring the phrenic nerve activity during ablation.…”