The new technology allows atrial fibrillation to be treated through faster and more precise procedures, also avoiding general anesthesia.
La Luz University Hospital, part of the Quirónsalud group, has become the first private center in Spain to perform pulsed-field ablation procedures with the new Sphere-360 catheter under deep sedation, without the need for general anesthesia. This advancement represents a significant step forward in the treatment of atrial fibrillation , the most common cardiac arrhythmia, by enabling faster, more precise interventions and a more comfortable experience for the patient.
Atrial fibrillation affects more than one million people in Spain. It can cause palpitations, fatigue, dizziness, or shortness of breath, and if left untreated, it increases the risk of stroke and heart failure.
To further advance the treatment of this pathology, the Cardiology Service of the La Luz University Hospital incorporates the new Sphere-360 catheter, a state-of-the-art technology designed to act selectively on the cardiac tissue responsible for the arrhythmia, better preserving the structures near the heart and optimizing the efficiency of the procedure.
“The addition of the new catheter allows us to perform faster and more precise procedures, but the main advance for our patients is being able to perform the procedure under deep sedation, avoiding general anesthesia. Being the first private hospital in Spain to offer this option represents an important step towards further improving safety, comfort, and recovery,” explains Dr. Juan Benezet , head of the Arrhythmia Unit at La Luz University Hospital.
Pulsed-field ablation is a minimally invasive technique that uses ultrafast electrical impulses to selectively target the tissue responsible for the arrhythmia, without resorting to the heat or cold used in conventional techniques. This minimizes the impact on healthy structures adjacent to the heart and offers a high safety profile.
The new Sphere-360 catheter allows for complete circumferential ablation without rotation and integrates mapping, ablation, and treatment validation functions into a single device. This innovation simplifies the procedure, reduces intervention times, and facilitates a more efficient workflow for the medical team.
The incorporation of this technology, along with the possibility of performing the procedure under deep sedation, promotes a faster and more comfortable recovery for the patient and consolidates the La Luz University Hospital as a benchmark in the incorporation of innovative techniques for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.
