OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Physicians at SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital - Oklahoma City are now performing procedures using the Volt™ Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) System, the latest generation of PFA technology designed to treat patients battling atrial fibrillation (AFib).
AFib is the most common type of heart rhythm disorder, affecting approximately 12 million people in the U.S. over the age of 65. Irregular heartbeats can lead to an increased risk of stroke, and AFib has been the primary or a contributing cause of death for more than two decades in the U.S. When medication and other treatment options fail to work, cardiac ablation is often used to effectively treat the condition.
John H Summers, M.D., SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital cardiac electrophysiologist, explained that the Volt PFA system represents a major advance in the field of AFib ablation. “It establishes a new benchmark for effectiveness without compromising safety. It does this through a balloon in basket design which directs energy directly into the targeted tissue, preventing dispersion into surrounding tissue.”
SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital was among a very small group of centers across the country – and the only one in Oklahoma - invited to early adoption of this specific next-generation PFA platform.
“The management of atrial fibrillation has evolved,” Summers said. “The Volt PFA balloon is establishing new benchmarks for safety and effectiveness of atrial fibrillation ablation. I am extremely excited to be able to offer this next generation technology to our patients.”
Globally, physicians are increasingly turning to pulsed field ablation technology to improve the physician experience and, importantly, improve the lives of patients, according to Abbott, developer of the Volt PFA. Pulsed field ablation is different from thermal ablation — which has stood as the standard ablation method for AFib for decades — in that it safely disables the cardiac tissue causing a patient's AFib using high energy electrical pulses rather than extreme temperatures, the company explained. The technology allows ablation procedures to be performed with a lower risk of damage to surrounding tissues than thermal ablation.
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About SSM Health in Oklahoma
SSM Health in Oklahoma includes St. Anthony Hospital (Oklahoma City), Bone & Joint Hospital at St. Anthony (Oklahoma City), SSM Health Outpatient Center (Oklahoma City), St. Anthony Hospital - Shawnee (Shawnee, Okla.), St. Anthony Hospital - Shawnee, Seminole Campus (Seminole, Okla.), St. Anthony Hospital - Midwest (Midwest City, Okla.), and SSM Health Rehabilitation Hospital, an SSM Health Select Medical partnership (Oklahoma City). The SSM Health network in Oklahoma also includes five SSM Health St. Anthony Healthplex campuses, seven managed hospitals, 17 rural affiliated hospitals and SSM Health Medical Group with more than 350 physicians and providers.
