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PULSed Field Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation Using a Balloon for Early Intervention - Study (PULSE)

21. august 2026 opdateret af: Asklepios proresearch

PULSed Field Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation Using a Balloon for Early Intervention - Study - The "PULSE - Study"

This study is a prospective, multicenter, randomized, open-label, blinded end-point, controlled clinical trial to investigate the impact of first line pulsed field ablation during 12 months follow-up in patients with early-stage paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation (<3 years) compared to usual care, defined as OMT.

Studieoversigt

Status

Rekruttering

Betingelser

Detaljeret beskrivelse

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a progressive arrhythmia associated with significant morbidity and mortality and burden for our health care system. Early rhythm-control therapy was beneficial regarding cardiovascular outcomes in patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic AF. Recent studies introducing first line Cryo Balloon based catheter ablation EARLY-AF and STOP -AF provided strong evidence supporting early catheter ablation over pharmacologic rhythm control in the paroxysmal setting of AF. Ongoing studies are challenging the current concept investigating the expansion of early rhythm control also to all types of clinically diagnosed AF using cryo ablation. With the advent of pulsed field ablation (PFA), a third energy source-alongside cryothermal and radiofrequency (RF) ablation-has been established for the effective treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). PFA induces so-called irreversible electroporation, thereby enabling successful ablation of myocardial tissue. Different cell types exhibit varying susceptibility and threshold levels for irreversible electroporation when exposed to PFA. Carefully tailored PFA pulse trains deliver sufficient energy to induce irreversible electroporation while avoiding excessive thermal effects on the surrounding tissue. Consequently, PFA enables selective targeting of myocardial tissue while minimizing collateral injury. This characteristic may translate into improved safety and efficacy in the treatment of AF. In contrast, thermal ablation techniques such as cryoablation and RF ablation inherently rely on substantial temperature changes, either cooling or heating, which may adversely affect adjacent anatomical structures including nerves (e.g., resulting in phrenic nerve palsy), vascular structures, and extracardiac tissues such as the esophagus. The occurrence of these potentially life-threatening complications may be reduced or possibly avoided using PFA. Over recent years, various PFA catheter designs as well as different PFA energy delivery settings have been introduced to enable effective and safe pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). A broad spectrum of catheter configurations-including focal single-tip catheters, pentaspline multielectrode systems, and balloon-based technologies-has been incorporated into clinical practice. Substantial comparative data evaluating PFA against conventional thermal ablation modalities (cryoablation and RF ablation) are now available. To date, no significant differences in acute procedural success rates, procedural parameters, or clinical outcome measures have been consistently observed, although one randomized trial demonstrated a trend toward improved outcomes with PFA. Across these studies, procedure duration was significantly shorter with PFA compared with conventional thermal ablation, representing an additional potential advantage of this treatment modality. More recent studies suggest that catheter ablation-particularly PFA-based ablation-for AF patients without documented recurrence during follow-up may be associated with a reduction in overall ischemic stroke events. These findings indicate that catheter ablation of AF may confer additional benefits in preventing adverse cardiovascular outcomes compared with medical therapy alone. Even in cases of AF recurrence, catheter ablation has been shown not only to significantly reduce AF burden but also to slow the progression from paroxysmal to persistent AF, the latter generally being associated with less favorable clinical outcomes compared with ablation performed during earlier disease stages. Despite the availability of effective antiarrhythmic drug therapy for AF, long-term pharmacological treatment is frequently limited by intolerance, side effects, or insufficient efficacy in a substantial proportion of patients. Nevertheless, large, randomized trials directly comparing PFA-based AF ablation with optimized medical therapy remain scarce.

Therefore, the PULSE study aims to evaluate the impact of PFA using a balloon-based catheter system for the treatment of AF on the maintenance of sinus rhythm compared with optimized medical therapy. In addition, the study will assess AF disease progression in patients with early-stage atrial fibrillation, including both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals with paroxysmal or early persistent AF.

Undersøgelsestype

Interventionel

Tilmelding (Anslået)

264

Fase

  • Ikke anvendelig

Kontakter og lokationer

Dette afsnit indeholder kontaktoplysninger for dem, der udfører undersøgelsen, og oplysninger om, hvor denne undersøgelse udføres.

Studiekontakt

Undersøgelse Kontakt Backup

Studiesteder

      • Bad Oeynhausen, Tyskland
        • Ikke rekrutterer endnu
        • HZD Bad Oeynhausen
        • Kontakt:
          • Philipp Sommer, MD
      • Cologne, Tyskland
        • Ikke rekrutterer endnu
        • Uniklinik Köln
        • Kontakt:
          • Daniel Steven, MD
      • Düsseldorf, Tyskland
        • Ikke rekrutterer endnu
        • Uniklinik Düsseldorf
        • Kontakt:
          • Obaida Rana, MD
      • Frankfurt, Tyskland
        • Ikke rekrutterer endnu
        • CCB Frankfurt
        • Kontakt:
          • Melanie Gunawardene, MD
      • Giessen, Tyskland
        • Ikke rekrutterer endnu
        • Uniklinik Gießen
        • Kontakt:
          • Borislav Dinov, MD
      • Hamburg, Tyskland, 20099
      • Herne, Tyskland
        • Ikke rekrutterer endnu
        • Marien Hospital Herne
        • Kontakt:
          • Christian Ukena, MD
      • Leipzig, Tyskland
        • Ikke rekrutterer endnu
        • Leipzig Herzzentrum HZL
        • Kontakt:
          • Kerstin Bode, MD
      • Neuss, Tyskland
        • Ikke rekrutterer endnu
        • Lukas Krankenhaus Neuss
        • Kontakt:
          • Torsten Becker, MD
      • Nuremberg, Tyskland
        • Ikke rekrutterer endnu
        • Klinikum Nürnberg
        • Kontakt:
          • Thomas Deneke, MD

Deltagelseskriterier

Forskere leder efter personer, der passer til en bestemt beskrivelse, kaldet berettigelseskriterier. Nogle eksempler på disse kriterier er en persons generelle helbredstilstand eller tidligere behandlinger.

Berettigelseskriterier

Aldre berettiget til at studere

  • Voksen
  • Ældre voksen

Tager imod sunde frivillige

Ingen

Beskrivelse

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults (≥18 years) with symptomatic or asymptomatic, paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation
  • First diagnosis of AF within the last 36 months
  • At least one documented episode of AF on ECG, Holter monitoring, or eligible Smart Watch Device
  • No prior catheter ablation for AF

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Persistent AF >3 years or longstanding persistent AF
  • Previous AF-Ablation
  • Ongoing continuous AAD therapy with Amiodarone at baseline
  • History of failed continuous AAD therapy with > 1 agent. Exceptions are Beta blocker, Verapamil or "pill in the pocket"-therapy
  • Left Atrial Volume Index (LAVI) > 50mL/m2
  • Severe mitral regurgitation
  • Contraindications to anticoagulation therapy
  • Severe pulmonary or renal disease
  • Pregnancy, active cancer disease
  • Any condition or disease which is contraindication for AF ablation within 21 days or Anti-Arrhythmic Drug (AAD)

Studieplan

Dette afsnit indeholder detaljer om studieplanen, herunder hvordan undersøgelsen er designet, og hvad undersøgelsen måler.

Hvordan er undersøgelsen tilrettelagt?

Design detaljer

  • Primært formål: Behandling
  • Tildeling: Randomiseret
  • Interventionel model: Parallel tildeling
  • Maskning: Enkelt

Våben og indgreb

Deltagergruppe / Arm
Intervention / Behandling
Aktiv komparator: Group1: Pulsed Field-Ablation
Patients randomized in the intervention group should receive the PFA ablation within 21 days.
PFA (Pulse Field Ablation) - Pulmonary vein isolation ablation for atrial fibrillation
Ingen indgriben: Group 2: Usual care
Patients randomized in the control group / usual care group will undergo optimal medical treatment (OMT), defined as antiarrhythmic drug therapy (AAD). Within 21 days patients in the control group should start or maintain on AAD therapy based on decision of the investigator and according to current ESC Guidelines.

Hvad måler undersøgelsen?

Primære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
Freedom from any Atrial Tachyarrhythmia
Tidsramme: through 9 weeks to 12 months follow-up
Arrhythmia-free survival, defined as freedom from atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, or atrial tachycardia lasting >30 seconds through 9 weeks to 12 months follow-up on ILR monitoring via blinded core lab or any 12 lead ECG on visits, ECG Holter monitoring, or on symptom driven event monitoring after a 8 week Blanking period (reviewed by a blinded endpoint review committee).
through 9 weeks to 12 months follow-up

Sekundære resultatmål

Resultatmål
Foranstaltningsbeskrivelse
Tidsramme
AF Burden
Tidsramme: through 9 weeks to 12 months follow-up
Freedom from atrial fibrillation (AF) (>30 s) through 9 weeks to 12 months follow-up
through 9 weeks to 12 months follow-up
Burden of Atrial Tachycardia and Atrial Flutter
Tidsramme: through 9 weeks to 12 months follow-up
Freedom from atrial tachycardia and atrial flutter (AFL) (>30 s) through 9 weeks to 12 months follow-up
through 9 weeks to 12 months follow-up
Re-hospitalization rate
Tidsramme: up to 12 months follow-up
Re-hospitalization rate due to cardiovascular disease (e.g. AF, worsening of heart failure)
up to 12 months follow-up
AF Progression Timeline
Tidsramme: through 9 weeks to 12 months follow-up
Progression from paroxysmal to persistent AF trough 9 weeks to 12 months follow-up.
through 9 weeks to 12 months follow-up
Symptom Burden assessed by quality of life
Tidsramme: QoL will be measured at baseline and at 12 months of follow up evaluating the improvement of QoL within one year.

Symptom Burden, detected by Patient Questionnaires: Atrial Fibrillation Effect on QualiTy-of-Life (AFEQT) and MOCA.

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is used as screening instrument for cognitive dysfunction.

The AFEQT questionnaire is used because it is specific to AF and validated in that subject population. From each AFEQT questionnaire, a single score will be calculated in line with AFEQT scoring guidelines and post-procedure values will be compared between the randomized arms.

QoL will be measured at baseline and at 12 months of follow up evaluating the improvement of QoL within one year.
Procedure-related complications
Tidsramme: up to 12 months follow-up
Procedure-related complications, including phrenic nerve injury, pulmonary vein stenosis, esophageal injury and stroke.
up to 12 months follow-up
HF Progression Markers
Tidsramme: up to 12 months follow-up
Progression of heart failure defined as trend in LV-EF and trend in BNP
up to 12 months follow-up

Samarbejdspartnere og efterforskere

Det er her, du vil finde personer og organisationer, der er involveret i denne undersøgelse.

Samarbejdspartnere

Efterforskere

  • Ledende efterforsker: Arian Sultan, MD, Asklepios Klinik St. Georg
  • Ledende efterforsker: Stephan Willems, MD, Asklepios Klinik St. Georg

Publikationer og nyttige links

Den person, der er ansvarlig for at indtaste oplysninger om undersøgelsen, leverer frivilligt disse publikationer. Disse kan handle om alt relateret til undersøgelsen.

Generelle publikationer

Datoer for undersøgelser

Disse datoer sporer fremskridtene for indsendelser af undersøgelsesrekord og resumeresultater til ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieregistreringer og rapporterede resultater gennemgås af National Library of Medicine (NLM) for at sikre, at de opfylder specifikke kvalitetskontrolstandarder, før de offentliggøres på den offentlige hjemmeside.

Studer store datoer

Studiestart (Faktiske)

19. august 2026

Primær færdiggørelse (Anslået)

31. marts 2030

Studieafslutning (Anslået)

31. marts 2031

Datoer for studieregistrering

Først indsendt

20. maj 2026

Først indsendt, der opfyldte QC-kriterier

27. maj 2026

Først opslået (Faktiske)

2. juni 2026

Opdateringer af undersøgelsesjournaler

Sidste opdatering sendt (Faktiske)

24. august 2026

Sidste opdatering indsendt, der opfyldte kvalitetskontrolkriterier

21. august 2026

Sidst verificeret

1. august 2026

Mere information

Begreber relateret til denne undersøgelse

Nøgleord

Andre undersøgelses-id-numre

  • #4523 - PULSE Study

Lægemiddel- og udstyrsoplysninger, undersøgelsesdokumenter

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Disse oplysninger blev hentet direkte fra webstedet clinicaltrials.gov uden ændringer. Hvis du har nogen anmodninger om at ændre, fjerne eller opdatere dine undersøgelsesoplysninger, bedes du kontakte register@clinicaltrials.gov. Så snart en ændring er implementeret på clinicaltrials.gov, vil denne også blive opdateret automatisk på vores hjemmeside .

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