Systematic Workflow for Pentaspline Pulsed-field Ablation Optimization: Real-world Performance of the 12 cOmmandments (12-O) Strategy

While radiofrequency and cryoballoon ablation have shown high rates of pulmonary vein reconnection in patients undergoing repeat electrophysiological evaluation for AF recurrence, early evaluations demonstrated a remarkably high rate of durable PVI with pentaspline pulsed field ablation (P-PFA). These observations suggested that PFA could mitigate the historical limitations of thermal ablation related to late PV reconnection and positioned the technology as a potentially robust solution for long-term lesion durability.

However, real-world experience including data from large volume centers beyond initial learning curve, has revealed a non-negligible incidence of reconnections, comparable to those historically observed with thermal ablation and persisting even in the most contemporary datasets. These findings highlight the need to optimize procedural strategies to maximize lesion durability while maintaining procedural efficiency. Although fluoroscopic guidance remains standard practice in many centers, the adoption of intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) and electroanatomic mapping (EAM) to support device navigation is increasing, with the potential to improve lesion quality at the expense of greater complexity and resource utilization.