Closure of a patent foramen ovale (PFO) is a minimally invasive cardiac procedure designed to seal the patent foramen ovale—a small opening between the upper chambers of the heart.
However, after closure, the septum becomes significantly harder to traverse—which makes future catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation considerably more difficult.
When atrial fibrillation was detected in this patient during the preoperative evaluation, our team decided, in consultation with him, to perform pulse-field ablation (PFA) to treat the atrial fibrillation and close the PFO during the same session in order to achieve optimal long-term outcomes for both conditions.