UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute Shares Outcomes of Clinical Trial for Atrial Fibrillation

September 20, 2023

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Chinmay Patel, MD, Director of electrophysiology, Heart and Vascular Institute of UPMC in Central Pa., was one of the principal investigators of the ADVENT trial - a pivotal clinical trial investigating an innovative technology to correct paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). The promising outcomes of the study were presented at ESC Congress 2023, the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology, and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine on August 27, 2023.

Catheter ablation of AF, also known as pulmonary vein isolation, is increasingly used in treatment of drug refractory AF and currently uses heat or cold (thermal) energy to effectively correct abnormal impulses formation. In contrast, he FARAPULSE™ Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) System is a non-thermal ablation treatment that delivers microsecond high-voltage electrical fields to selectively ablate heart tissue and potentially limit damage to tissues outside the myocardium. The ADVENT study was the first randomized clinical trial to directly compare the efficacy and safety of the FARAPULSE PFA System against standard-of-care thermal ablation.

This multicenter trial was conducted at 30 medical centers by 65 experienced electrophysiologists and 607 patients randomized to be treated with PFA or thermal ablation. Results of the ADVENT trial showed that AF ablation performed using Farapulse PFA system is as effective and safe as conventional thermal ablation.  UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute in Central Pa. was one of the top enrolling sites, the first center in Pennsylvania and third in the country with 50 patients treated by Dr. Patel.

"At UPMC, we continuously strive to introduce innovative technologies that will bring meaningful benefits to our patients," said Dr. Patel. "These findings highlight the superior procedural efficiency of this novel technology, and real-world use continues to yield strong safety and efficacy outcomes. Our team is excited to lead the way in the region and beyond by offering new capabilities to our patients."

This is just one example of how patients receiving care at UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute facilities across Dauphin, Cumberland, Perry, York, Lancaster, Lebanon, Franklin, and Adams counties benefit from groundbreaking research and have local access to more than 100 clinical trials. UPMC experts lead trials in multi-institutional studies, enabling the team to bring the treatments of tomorrow to UPMC today.

As pioneers in cardiovascular health since 1956, doctors at the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute in central Pennsylvania were the first in the region to perform open heart surgery and the first to perform coronary artery balloon angioplasty. Other firsts include the implantation of a drug-eluting coronary stent, percutaneous (minimally invasive) aortic valve procedures (TAVR), and the implantation of an FDA-approved percutaneous mitral valve repair device.

Among other recognitions, UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute in Central Pa. recently achieved the distinguished three-star rating, the highest rating possible, from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) in four out of five total categories for patient care and outcomes. This three-star rating places UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute in Central Pa. among the most elite cardiac surgery programs — the top 1% — in the United States and Canada.

For more information on the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute in Central Pennsylvania, visit UPMC.com/CentralPaHeart.