Key result
Radiofrequency ablation reduced the tensile strength of porcine and human cardiac specimens compared to untreated tissues, whereas cryoablation did not have a significant impact.
Why the study?
Does radiofrequency or cryothermal ablation alter the biomechanical properties of isolated human or swine cardiac tissues compared to untreated specimens?
Does radiofrequency or cryothermal ablation alter the biomechanical properties of isolated human or swine cardiac tissues compared to untreated specimens?
Radiofrequency ablation, but not cryoablation, reduces the tensile strength of cardiac tissues, which may have implications for complications like cardiac tamponade or atrial-esophageal fistula.
Differential post-ablation tissue biomechanics may heighten complication risk; leaves open modality-specific modeling before clinical translation.
Changes in cardiac tissue properties following the application of various ablation modalities may lead to the development of an array of associated complications. The application of either radio frequency (RF) or cryothermal ablations will alter the biomechanical properties of various cardiac tissues in a differential manner; in some cases, this may be attributable to increased incidences of cardiac tamponade, pulmonary vein stenosis, and/or atrial-esophageal fistula. Thus, a greater understanding of the underlying changes in tissue properties induced by ablative therapies will ultimately promote safer and more efficacious procedures. The effects of applied RF or cryothermal energies on the biomechanical properties of the pulmonary vein, left atrial, or right atrial samples ([Formula: see text]) were examined from fresh excised porcine ([Formula: see text]) and donated human tissue ([Formula: see text]). RF ablations were found to reduce the tensile strength of the porcine cardiac specimens ([Formula: see text]), and a similar trend was noted for human samples. Cryoablations did not have a significant impact on the tissue properties compared with the untreated tissue specimens. Locational and species differences were also observed in this experimental paradigm ([Formula: see text]. Incorporating these findings into cardiac device design and computational modeling should aid to reduce the risks of complications associated with tissue property changes resulting from cardiac ablative procedures.
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Quallich et al. (2015) studied this question. Radiofrequency or cryothermal ablation vs. Untreated tissue specimens was evaluated on Biomechanical properties (tensile strength). Radiofrequency ablation reduced the tensile strength of porcine and human cardiac specimens compared to untreated tissues, whereas cryoablation did not have a significant impact.
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