Research In Brief
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
CryoCath: Pulmonary vein isolation ablation with CryoCath's Arctic Front cryoballoon or Arctic Front plus the Freezor Max catheter resulted in maintenance of sinus rhythm in 74% of patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) and 42% of patients with persistent AF in a 346-patient trial led by Thomas Neumann, Kerckhoff Heart Center, Bad Nauheim, Germany. Treatment was considered successful if the patients were AF-free and off anti-arrhythmic drugs one year after a single procedure with the Arctic Front. The results appear in the July 22 Journal of the American College of Cardiology. CryoCath recently completed enrollment in the STOP AF pivotal U.S. trial for Arctic Front and expects FDA approval in late 2009. The device is already available in Europe (1"The Gray Sheet" March 31, 2008, In Brief)