Why the study?
Pulmonary vein pulsed-field ablation is widely regarded as safe for atrial fibrillation, with sinoatrial disturbances considered a rare complication.
This first documented case highlights the potential for transient sinoatrial node dysfunction as a rare complication of pulmonary vein pulsed-field ablation using an 8-polar circular catheter.
Warrants awareness of transient sinoatrial node dysfunction after circular PFA; first case is hypothesis-generating for procedural safety.
Pulmonary vein pulsed-field ablation (PFA) is widely regarded as a safe procedure for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), with sinoatrial disturbances as a rare complication. A 62-year-old female patient with paroxysmal AF underwent ablation using an 8-polar circular PFA catheter. During pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) of the right superior pulmonary vein, an intermittent increase in sinus rate was noted. Recurrent sinoatrial block was observed shortly after the procedure but resolved completely within six hours. This report presents the first documented case of transient sinoatrial node dysfunction as a complication of pulmonary vein PFA. Although the underlying mechanism-whether singular or multifactorial-remains unconfirmed, this case highlights the need for caution when utilizing the 8-polar circular PFA catheter.
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Zhang et al. (2026) studied this question.
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