Ablation Procedures for Arrhythmias

Atrial Fibrillation Catheter Ablation

Penn electrophysiologists introduced the use of catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) in 1997. The team currently performs more than six times the national standard of AF ablation procedures. The number of catheter ablation procedures performed at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) each year for cardiac arrhythmias amounts to more than the total of three of the next largest centers in the region combined.

Nearly a third of all patients undergoing ablation procedures at HUP have failed procedures elsewhere, contributing to the program's renowned track record of success with difficult and complex cases.

Research shows that medical centers performing more than 100 A-Fib ablation procedures per year have better outcomes and fewer complications.

A-Fib Ablation Case Volume at Penn Medicine FY 2006 - FY 2012, N = 4055

Ventricular Tachycardia Catheter Ablation

In 2015, the HUP EP team performed 360 ablations for ventricular tachycardia including 39 epicardial ablation procedures, and received patient referrals from across the United States for the treatment of VT. This represents the largest volume of VT ablation in the country.

VT Ablation Case Volumes at HUP FY 2011 - FY 2015

Penn is a national leader in VT ablation procedures. Electrophysiologists from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania have pioneered multiple contemporary ablation techniques including substrate-based catheter ablation to treat unmappable ventricular tachycardias. Penn EP has also pioneered the use of intracardiac echo to facilitate mapping and ablation of a variety of rhythm disorders. Penn EP, in conjunction with the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, hosts the annual International VT Symposium, the preeminent VT conference.