Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is an established therapy for atrial fibrillation (AF). One challenge in the catheter-based treatment of this arrhythmia is to develop an effective and safe ablation approach to achieve durable and consistent lesions around the PVs. The multipolar irrigated radiofrequency (RF) ablation catheter nMARQTM was designed as a single-shot device with the aim to achieve these goals. This article reviews the current literature with respect to acute- and long- term success rates after PVI with this circular mapping and ablation device. Furthermore, since this device recently became discredited to potential lethal complications, we will also focus on the data available on safety issues with this ablation system.
Keywords: atrial fibrillation; circular ablation catheter; nMARQ; pulmonary vein isolation.