Impact of ablation catheter irrigation design on silent cerebral embolism after radiofrequency catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation: results from a pilot study.

Introduction: Silent cerebral lesions (SCL) are a sensitive tool to evaluate thromboembolic risk of catheter ablation. Recent data showed the possibility to reduce thrombus formation when the electrode-tissue interface cooling is optimized by a homogeneous flushing of saline along the entire surface of the distal electrode through a larger number of irrigation holes. The study aim is to compare procedural parameters and safety of pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) performed by using open-irrigated catheters with different irrigation design.