Efficacy, Safety and Efficiency of the nMARQ Pulmonary Vein Isolation System in Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation

This is a pilot study designed to investigate the effectiveness of the nMARQ Pulmonary Vein Isolation system in the treatment of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation (AF) at different ablation settings. AF is a common condition which causes a fast and erratic heartbeat. There are estimated to be 50,000 new cases diagnosed per year in the UK. The fast heart beat can cause symptoms such as palpitations, lightheadedness, chest pains, shortness of breath and fatigue. Catheter ablation is a technique used for the control of AF. In this procedure a catheter (a long thin wire) is passed into the chambers of the heart via a large blood vessel in a leg. The tip of the catheter can destroy tiny sections of heart tissue that may be the source or trigger of the abnormal electrical impulses. One of the challenges of AF ablation is to maximize success rates, as such there is currently rapid advances in technology to carry out this procedure. Different catheters exist which deliver this energy in different ways. This study uses one such system to perform this procedure. It is called the nMARQ system for Pulmonary Vein Isolation produced by Biosense Webster. Currently this system is used in practice in the UK for patients with this medical condition. What we seek to research is when ablating what is the optimum setting to perform ablation at. There is currently no data to guide best clinical practice in this area.