Catheter ablation has become a cornerstone in atrial fibrillation (AF) therapy,
improving freedom from all-atrial arrhythmias, as well as outperforming
antiarrhythmic drugs in alleviating AF-related symptoms, reducing
hospitalizations, and enhancing quality of life. Nevertheless, the success rate
of traditional radiofrequency ablation (RFA) methods remains less than ideal. To
address these issues, refinement in RFA strategies has been developed to improve
efficacy and laboratory efficiency during pulmonary vein isolation (PVI).
High-power short-duration (HPSD) RFA has emerged as a safe strategy to reduce the
time required to produce durable lesions. This article reviews critical aspects
of HPSD ablation in the management of both paroxysmal and persistent AF,
covering aspects such as effectiveness, safety, procedural intricacies, and the underlying biophysics.