Media Room

For more information or to schedule an interview, email us.

Piedmont Offers New, Safer Procedure for Patients Diagnosed with AFib

Atlanta, Ga. (June 4, 2024) – Physicians with Piedmont Heart Institute are now offering a new ablation procedure for patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, also known as AFib. The Pulse field ablation procedure uses “non-thermal electric fields to ablate heart tissue and avoid damage to surrounding structures.” Piedmont electrophysiology physicians in Atlanta, Athens, and Augusta are now offering PFA as a treatment option and it will soon be offered in the Macon market, as well.

“AFib is a serious condition that patients need to be monitoring and treating,” said Sandeep Goyal, M.D., an electrophysiologist with Piedmont Heart Institute in Atlanta. “Piedmont Heart providers develop individualized treatment plans for our patients, and now being able to offer pulse field ablation gives patients another tool that will improve their health and overall quality of life.”

AFib is an abnormal heart rhythm that is irregular and fast and is the most common type of arrhythmia. AFib increases the risk of stroke, reduces the heart's efficiency and lowers the quality of life for most people. Data shows that patients diagnosed with AFib are at about five times more risk of stroke. While AFib symptoms can come and go, the most common symptoms are irregular heartbeat, heart racing, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, and feeling light-headed.

Cardiac ablation is a common procedure that has traditionally used heat/cold to target areas of the heart associated with abnormal rhythms and create tiny scars in tissue which disrupt the irregular heartbeat and reestablish the patient’s normal heart rhythm. Pulse field ablation uses electrical pulses to target the pulmonary veins instead of heat/cold to create the scars. This reduces the chance of damage to nearby structures such as esophagus or nerves from the heat.

“Anytime we have an opportunity to learn something new or use a new technique that is going to be a better, safer option for our patients, we want to be leading the way and bringing that to our patients,” said Kent Nilsson, M.D., an electrophysiologist with Piedmont Heart Institute in Athens.

Farapulse Athens

The FARAPULSE PFW System was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January 2024 after achieving consistently positive results in clinical trials.

Learn more about AFib and the comprehensive treatments available at Piedmont.