You see the heart in real time, working with precision the old methods couldn't match
En los márgenes donde la medicina y la esperanza se encuentran, Chile ha dado un paso hacia el futuro del cuidado cardíaco. La ablación por campo pulsado —una tecnología que corrige el ritmo irregular del corazón mediante pulsos eléctricos precisos— llegó este año al país, incorporando a Chile en el reducido grupo de centros médicos que ofrecen lo que los especialistas consideran el estándar de oro actual para la fibrilación auricular resistente a fármacos. Para los millones que viven con este padecimiento en todo el mundo, y para los miles de chilenos entre ellos, este avance no es solo técnico: es la diferencia entre una vida limitada por el corazón y una vida recuperada.
- Más de 50 millones de personas en el mundo padecen fibrilación auricular, y cuando los medicamentos dejan de funcionar, el tiempo que transcurre sin intervención puede costar años de calidad de vida.
- Los métodos de ablación anteriores implicaban exposición a radiación, riesgo de daño en tejidos circundantes y procedimientos difíciles de ejecutar con precisión —limitaciones que la nueva tecnología viene a desafiar directamente.
- El sistema de ablación por campo pulsado integra mapeo tridimensional en tiempo real, permitiendo a los electrofisiólogos ver el corazón mientras trabajan, reduciendo tiempos operativos y minimizando la exposición a fluoroscopía.
- El Dr. Carlos Piedra de Clínica Red Salud Santiago afirma que Chile puede ahora ofrecer el mismo nivel de atención disponible en Europa y Estados Unidos, posicionando al país como referente regional en electrofisiología.
- La pregunta que queda abierta es si esta innovación logrará extenderse más allá de los grandes centros médicos de Santiago, o si el costo del procedimiento limitará su acceso a quienes puedan costearlo.
Santiago acaba de incorporar una nueva herramienta para tratar uno de los problemas cardíacos más frecuentes del mundo. La ablación por campo pulsado llegó a Chile este año, situando al país entre los pocos centros médicos que ofrecen lo que los especialistas consideran el estándar de oro para pacientes cuya fibrilación auricular ya no responde a los medicamentos.
La fibrilación auricular afecta a más de 50 millones de personas en el mundo: las cámaras superiores del corazón vibran en lugar de latir con ritmo. Cuando los fármacos fallan, la ablación por catéter ha sido la respuesta habitual —un procedimiento que usa calor o frío para cicatrizar el tejido responsable del problema. Funciona, pero conlleva exposición a radiación, riesgo de daño colateral y una precisión difícil de garantizar.
El nuevo sistema cambia esa ecuación. En lugar de temperatura, utiliza pulsos eléctricos cuidadosamente calibrados. Pero la innovación central es la integración del mapeo en tiempo real: los electrofisiólogos pueden ver una imagen tridimensional del corazón mientras operan, lo que se traduce en procedimientos más rápidos, menos radiación y mejores resultados a largo plazo. El Dr. Carlos Piedra, de Clínica Red Salud Santiago, lo describe como un salto que equipara a Chile con los centros líderes de Europa y Estados Unidos. La tecnología también reduce el riesgo de accidente cerebrovascular, insuficiencia cardíaca y demencia en pacientes con la condición resistente a fármacos.
Este avance refleja también un cambio en la filosofía del tratamiento: la evidencia sugiere que intervenir antes —sin esperar a que los medicamentos fallen del todo— produce mejores resultados. Fernando Ruiz de Gamboa, de la división de electrofisiología de Johnson & Johnson, encuadró el lanzamiento como un compromiso con la accesibilidad a la innovación médica de clase mundial. Para los miles de chilenos que viven con fibrilación auricular, eso significa algo concreto: un procedimiento más seguro, más rápido y con menos daño colateral. Lo que aún está por verse es si la tecnología logrará llegar más allá de los grandes centros de Santiago y alcanzar a quienes más la necesitan.
Santiago has just acquired a new tool for treating one of the world's most common heart problems. Pulsed field ablation—a technology that uses electrical pulses to correct irregular heartbeats—arrived in Chile this year, marking the country's entry into a small circle of medical centers offering what specialists consider the current gold standard for patients whose hearts won't respond to drugs.
Atrial fibrillation, the condition this technology targets, affects more than 50 million people worldwide. The heart's upper chambers quiver instead of beating in rhythm, and for many patients, medication eventually stops working. When that happens, doctors have long turned to catheter ablation—threading a thin wire through blood vessels to the heart and using heat or cold to scar away the tissue causing the problem. It works, but it carries risks: exposure to radiation from fluoroscopy imaging, potential damage to surrounding tissue, and the simple fact that the procedure is difficult to perform with precision.
The new pulsed field ablation system changes the equation. Instead of heat or cold, it uses carefully timed electrical pulses to disable the faulty tissue. But the real innovation isn't just the ablation itself—it's the integration of real-time mapping. Electrophysiologists can now see a three-dimensional picture of the heart as they work, watching their progress moment by moment. This means fewer guesses, faster procedures, and dramatically less radiation exposure. Dr. Carlos Piedra, an electrophysiologist at Clínica Red Salud Santiago, describes it as positioning Chile alongside the world's leading centers. "We can now offer our patients the same standard of care available in Europe and the United States," he said. The precision matters not just for immediate success but for long-term outcomes—the technology reduces the risk of stroke, heart failure progression, and even dementia in patients with drug-resistant atrial fibrillation.
The arrival of this technology in Chile reflects a broader shift in how cardiologists think about timing. Evidence increasingly suggests that waiting for medications to fail before intervening may cost patients years of quality of life. Earlier ablation, when the condition is still manageable, appears to produce better results. For a country positioning itself as a regional leader in cardiovascular care, the decision to adopt pulsed field ablation signals a commitment to staying current with the fastest-moving edge of the field.
Fernando Ruiz de Gamboa, the regional manager for Johnson & Johnson's electrophysiology division, framed the launch as more than a business decision. "This is about making world-class medical innovation accessible," he said. For the thousands of Chileans living with atrial fibrillation—especially those whose hearts have stopped listening to pills—that accessibility means something concrete: a procedure that works faster, safer, and with less radiation. It means a chance to restore normal rhythm without the collateral damage that older techniques sometimes carried. The question now is how quickly the technology spreads beyond Santiago's major medical centers, and whether the cost of the procedure will limit access to those who can afford it.
Citas Notables
This technology positions us at the level of the world's leading electrophysiology centers, allowing us to offer Chilean patients the same standard of care available in Europe and the United States.— Dr. Carlos Piedra, electrophysiologist, Clínica Red Salud Santiago
This is about making world-class medical innovation accessible, not just a scientific advance.— Fernando Ruiz de Gamboa, General Manager Chile, Johnson & Johnson
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does the timing of this technology matter for Chile specifically?
Chile has strong medical infrastructure in Santiago, but it was still a step behind the absolute cutting edge. This technology closes that gap. Patients who would have had to travel to Miami or Madrid for the best ablation care can now get it at home.
What makes pulsed field ablation fundamentally different from what doctors were doing before?
The old methods used heat or cold to scar tissue. This uses electrical pulses—gentler in some ways, more precise in others. But the real difference is the integrated mapping. You're not working blind anymore. You see the heart in real time.
Does that mean fewer complications?
Fewer and less severe. Less radiation exposure is huge—that adds up over a lifetime. But also, the precision means you're less likely to damage healthy tissue around the target area. And the procedure is faster, which matters when someone's under anesthesia.
You mentioned evidence supporting earlier intervention. What does that mean for patients?
It means doctors are starting to recommend ablation sooner, before medications fail completely. The old thinking was to exhaust drug options first. Now the data suggests that waiting costs patients years of normal life—years of fatigue, shortness of breath, anxiety about their heart.
What's the catch? Why isn't every hospital in Chile adopting this tomorrow?
Cost, mainly. The equipment is expensive. Training electrophysiologists takes time. And access is still concentrated in major centers. A patient in a rural area won't have this option yet.
So this is a story about innovation reaching Chile, but also about inequality in who gets to use it?
Exactly. It's both things at once. A genuine advance in medicine, and a reminder that access to the best medicine is still uneven.