Electrophysiologists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Cardiovascular Institute are among the first in the nation to use pulsed-field ablation to treat atrial fibrillation. According to Tom McElderry, M.D., an associate professor of medicine in the UAB Division of Cardiovascular Disease, this novel therapy uses fast, high-energy electrical pulses to ablate pulmonary veins and atrial tissue safely and effectively.

Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat, occurring when the two top chambers of the heart (atria) beat out of rhythm with the two lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles). If left untreated, this type of rapid, chaotic heartbeat can stretch and weaken the heart muscle. Atrial fibrillation also may restrict blood flow to other […]

Atrial fibrillation (AF, or “A-Fib”) is the most common type of arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat. Often mistaken for normal heart palpitations or written off as the result of aging, AF usually increases in duration and severity over time if untreated. AF affects 2 million Americans and is responsible for one in four strokes among people over 80.

UAB Cardiovascular Institute electrophysiologists completed the first commercial procedure in the United States using first-of-its-kind ablation technology to treat patients with atrial fibrillation. The new technology, the Medtronic DiamondTemp™ Ablation system, is the first FDA-approved, temperature-controlled, irrigated radiofrequency ablation system with diamonds currently available to deliver ablations.