Saint Agnes first in Central Valley to use ‘FARAPULSE’ for heart treatments

FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – Fresno-based Saint Agnes announced they are the first hospital in the Central Valley to perform a procedure utilizing the “FARAPULSE™ Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) System” – designed to treat heart issues in a safer way than traditional methods.

FARAPULSE™ from Boston Scientific procedure was performed on Tuesday, April 16. Saint Agnes says the hospital went on to treat two more patients using the new technology.

During a traditional ablation procedure, Saint Agnes says a catheter is guided into the heart and produces either extremely hot or cold temperatures to destroy targeted areas of the heart that are causing abnormal heart rhythms like atrial fibrillation.

FARAPULSE™ utilizes cardiac tissue-selective, non-thermal electric fields to ablate targeted tissues. “Before, with ablation, we would cauterize the tissue and then freeze it,” said cardiologist Dr. Jagroop S. Basraon. “So, this is really the next generation of technology.”

Staff say this procedure using FARAPULSE also reduces the risk of other areas of the heart being damaged during treatment, an issue with traditional thermal ablation.

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