SMC succeeds in latest treatment for atrial fibrillation: Pulsed-Field Ablation

Samsung Medical Center (SMC) has taken a step forward in personalized atrial fibrillation treatment by successfully performing Pulsed-Field Ablation (PFA), a state-of-the-art treatment for atrial fibrillation.

SMC said Thursday that Professor On Young-keun of the Department of Cardiology successfully performed the PFA procedure.

PFA uses high-energy electrical pulses to selectively eliminate only the myocardial cells that generate abnormal electrical signals that cause atrial fibrillation, reducing the risk of damage to surrounding tissues. It was approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in September.

PFA clinical results are also encouraging. A recent study showed that 87.9 percent of patients in the PFA group maintained a normal heart rhythm for one year, including 90.8 percent of those with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. The rate of adverse events was 0.7 percent, considered safe compared to conventional treatments.

Samsung Medical Center's PFA procedure has also attracted global attention.

Professor Julian Chun of the Cardiovascular Center Bethanien in Germany, a world-renowned expert in arrhythmia, attended the event and shared his clinical experience with SMC’s arrhythmia team.

“With the introduction of PFA, we can provide the most advanced treatment for patients with atrial fibrillation arrhythmia,” Professor On said. “We will use the experience of performing the first procedure with overseas scholars to strengthen the latest arrhythmia treatment research and promote Korea's arrhythmia treatment capabilities to the world.”

The Arrhythmia Center at Samsung Medical Center Heart & Cerebrovascular Hospital offers various treatment options, including hybrid treatments and thoracoscopic arrhythmia surgery.

In 2020, it became the first center in Asia to be designated by Johnson & Johnson Medical as a training center for ventricular arrhythmia procedures. Last year, the center was also the first in Korea to introduce Boston Scientific Korea's POLARx system, a balloon-cooled radiofrequency ablation procedure.