NCT07320768

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether adding renal denervation (RDN) to pulsed-field ablation (PFA) reduces blanking-period recurrence of atrial tachyarrhythmias in adults (≥18 years) with persistent atrial fibrillation undergoing first-time ablation while off antiarrhythmic drugs. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  1. 1.Does PFA+RDN, compared with PFA alone, reduce the proportion of participants with any AF/atrial flutter/atrial tachycardia ≥30 seconds during the 90-day blanking period?
  2. 2.Is PFA+RDN safe, as measured by procedure-related serious adverse events through 30 days?

Trial Health

65
Monitor

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
86

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable

Timeline
13mo left

Started Jan 2026

Status
not yet recruiting

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Progress25%
Jan 2026Jun 2027

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

December 21, 2025

Completed
11 days until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

January 1, 2026

Completed
5 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

January 6, 2026

Completed
12 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

January 1, 2027

Expected
5 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

June 1, 2027

Last Updated

January 6, 2026

Status Verified

December 1, 2025

Enrollment Period

1 year

First QC Date

December 21, 2025

Last Update Submit

December 21, 2025

Conditions

Keywords

Persistent Atrial Fibrillationrenal denervation (RDN)pulsed-field ablation (PFA)

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Freedom from Atrial Arrhythmia Recurrence

    Absence of any documented atrial tachyarrhythmia - including atrial fibrillation (AF), atrial tachycardia (AT), or atrial flutter (AFL) lasting ≥30 seconds - occurring

    within 12 Months After the Index Procedure

Secondary Outcomes (4)

  • Freedom from AF recurrence

    within 3 months after the index procedure

  • Atrial fibrillation burden

    at 3 months

  • Change in blood pressure

    immediately, at 1 month, and at 3 months after procedure

  • Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE)

    up to 12 months after ablation

Study Arms (2)

pulsed-field ablation alone

SHAM COMPARATOR
Procedure: Pulsed-Field Ablation (PFA)

renal denervation combined with pulsed-field ablation

EXPERIMENTAL
Procedure: renal denervationProcedure: Pulsed-Field Ablation (PFA)

Interventions

Renal denervation is a catheter-based procedure performed after renal angiography confirms no significant stenosis. A specialized catheter delivers low-energy pulses inside both renal arteries to disrupt overactive sympathetic nerves surrounding the vessels. Energy is applied in a spiral pattern from distal to proximal segments. The procedure is performed during the same session as PFA under anticoagulation.

renal denervation combined with pulsed-field ablation

Catheter-based PFA of the left atrium for wide-antral pulmonary vein isolation using a multielectrode PFA system. Entrance/exit block must be confirmed.

pulsed-field ablation alonerenal denervation combined with pulsed-field ablation

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall(Gender-based eligibility)
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Age \> 18 years.
  • Patients with persistent atrial fibrillation undergoing first-time catheter ablation (defined as any episode lasting ≥7 days).
  • Symptomatic atrial fibrillation refractory to or intolerant of at least one class I or III antiarrhythmic drug and scheduled for guideline-directed catheter ablation.
  • Able to understand the study purpose, voluntarily participate, and sign the written informed consent form.

You may not qualify if:

  • Presence of advanced structural heart disease.
  • Life expectancy \< 12 months.
  • Blood pressure \< 90/60 mmHg.
  • Pregnant or lactating women.
  • Anatomical abnormalities of the renal arteries unsuitable for treatment as determined by pre-procedural renal CTA.
  • History of renal artery intervention, impaired renal function with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) \< 45 mL/min/1.73 m² (calculated by the MDRD equation).
  • Secondary atrial fibrillation due to electrolyte imbalance, thyroid disorders, or other reversible or non-cardiac causes.
  • Contraindication to pulsed-field ablation (e.g., left atrial thrombus, prior atrial septal defect occluder implantation, or permanent metallic implant in the left atrium) or to anticoagulation therapy.
  • Known inability to obtain vascular access or contraindication to femoral venous puncture.
  • Heart failure with left ventricular ejection fraction \< 30% documented by transthoracic echocardiography within 3 months before ablation.
  • Patients with current or anticipated need for pacemaker, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), or cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), or prior transseptal closure with occluder device for atrial septal defect or patent foramen ovale.

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Related Publications (15)

  • Heradien M, Mahfoud F, Greyling C, Lauder L, van der Bijl P, Hettrick DA, Stilwaney W, Sibeko S, Jansen van Rensburg R, Peterson D, Khwinani B, Goosen A, Saaiman JA, Ukena C, Bohm M, Brink PA. Renal denervation prevents subclinical atrial fibrillation in patients with hypertensive heart disease: Randomized, sham-controlled trial. Heart Rhythm. 2022 Nov;19(11):1765-1773. doi: 10.1016/j.hrthm.2022.06.031. Epub 2022 Jun 30.

  • Steinberg JS, Shabanov V, Ponomarev D, Losik D, Ivanickiy E, Kropotkin E, Polyakov K, Ptaszynski P, Keweloh B, Yao CJ, Pokushalov EA, Romanov AB. Effect of Renal Denervation and Catheter Ablation vs Catheter Ablation Alone on Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence Among Patients With Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation and Hypertension: The ERADICATE-AF Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2020 Jan 21;323(3):248-255. doi: 10.1001/jama.2019.21187.

  • Turagam MK, Whang W, Miller MA, Neuzil P, Aryana A, Romanov A, Cuoco FA, Mansour M, Lakkireddy D, Michaud GF, Dukkipati SR, Cammack S, Reddy VY. Renal Sympathetic Denervation as Upstream Therapy During Atrial Fibrillation Ablation: Pilot HFIB Studies and Meta-Analysis. JACC Clin Electrophysiol. 2021 Jan;7(1):109-123. doi: 10.1016/j.jacep.2020.08.013. Epub 2020 Oct 28.

  • Romanov A, Pokushalov E, Ponomarev D, Strelnikov A, Shabanov V, Losik D, Karaskov A, Steinberg JS. Pulmonary vein isolation with concomitant renal artery denervation is associated with reduction in both arterial blood pressure and atrial fibrillation burden: Data from implantable cardiac monitor. Cardiovasc Ther. 2017 Aug;35(4). doi: 10.1111/1755-5922.12264.

  • Pokushalov E, Romanov A, Corbucci G, Artyomenko S, Baranova V, Turov A, Shirokova N, Karaskov A, Mittal S, Steinberg JS. A randomized comparison of pulmonary vein isolation with versus without concomitant renal artery denervation in patients with refractory symptomatic atrial fibrillation and resistant hypertension. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2012 Sep 25;60(13):1163-70. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2012.05.036. Epub 2012 Sep 5.

  • Hering D, Lambert EA, Marusic P, Walton AS, Krum H, Lambert GW, Esler MD, Schlaich MP. Substantial reduction in single sympathetic nerve firing after renal denervation in patients with resistant hypertension. Hypertension. 2013 Feb;61(2):457-64. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.111.00194. Epub 2012 Nov 19.

  • Duytschaever M, Demolder A, Phlips T, Sarkozy A, El Haddad M, Taghji P, Knecht S, Tavernier R, Vandekerckhove Y, De Potter T. PulmOnary vein isolation With vs. without continued antiarrhythmic Drug trEatment in subjects with Recurrent Atrial Fibrillation (POWDER AF): results from a multicentre randomized trial. Eur Heart J. 2018 Apr 21;39(16):1429-1437. doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehx666.

  • Kirchhof P, Camm AJ, Goette A, Brandes A, Eckardt L, Elvan A, Fetsch T, van Gelder IC, Haase D, Haegeli LM, Hamann F, Heidbuchel H, Hindricks G, Kautzner J, Kuck KH, Mont L, Ng GA, Rekosz J, Schoen N, Schotten U, Suling A, Taggeselle J, Themistoclakis S, Vettorazzi E, Vardas P, Wegscheider K, Willems S, Crijns HJGM, Breithardt G; EAST-AFNET 4 Trial Investigators. Early Rhythm-Control Therapy in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation. N Engl J Med. 2020 Oct 1;383(14):1305-1316. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2019422. Epub 2020 Aug 29.

  • Piccini JP, Caso V, Connolly SJ, Fox KAA, Oldgren J, Jones WS, Gorog DA, Durdil V, Viethen T, Neumann C, Mundl H, Patel MR; PACIFIC-AF Investigators. Safety of the oral factor XIa inhibitor asundexian compared with apixaban in patients with atrial fibrillation (PACIFIC-AF): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, double-dummy, dose-finding phase 2 study. Lancet. 2022 Apr 9;399(10333):1383-1390. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00456-1. Epub 2022 Apr 3.

  • Lin HJ, Wolf PA, Kelly-Hayes M, Beiser AS, Kase CS, Benjamin EJ, D'Agostino RB. Stroke severity in atrial fibrillation. The Framingham Study. Stroke. 1996 Oct;27(10):1760-4. doi: 10.1161/01.str.27.10.1760.

  • Noubiap JJ, Feteh VF, Middeldorp ME, Fitzgerald JL, Thomas G, Kleinig T, Lau DH, Sanders P. A meta-analysis of clinical risk factors for stroke in anticoagulant-naive patients with atrial fibrillation. Europace. 2021 Oct 9;23(10):1528-1538. doi: 10.1093/europace/euab087.

  • Benjamin EJ, Wolf PA, D'Agostino RB, Silbershatz H, Kannel WB, Levy D. Impact of atrial fibrillation on the risk of death: the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation. 1998 Sep 8;98(10):946-52. doi: 10.1161/01.cir.98.10.946.

  • Du X, Guo L, Xia S, Du J, Anderson C, Arima H, Huffman M, Yuan Y, Zheng Y, Wu S, Guang X, Zhou X, Lin H, Cheng X, Dong J, Ma C. Atrial fibrillation prevalence, awareness and management in a nationwide survey of adults in China. Heart. 2021 Jan 28;107(7):535-41. doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2020-317915. Online ahead of print.

  • Kalman JM, Sanders P, Rosso R, Calkins H. Should We Perform Catheter Ablation for Asymptomatic Atrial Fibrillation? Circulation. 2017 Aug 1;136(5):490-499. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.116.024926.

  • Calkins H, Hindricks G, Cappato R, Kim YH, Saad EB, Aguinaga L, Akar JG, Badhwar V, Brugada J, Camm J, Chen PS, Chen SA, Chung MK, Nielsen JC, Curtis AB, Davies DW, Day JD, d'Avila A, de Groot NMSN, Di Biase L, Duytschaever M, Edgerton JR, Ellenbogen KA, Ellinor PT, Ernst S, Fenelon G, Gerstenfeld EP, Haines DE, Haissaguerre M, Helm RH, Hylek E, Jackman WM, Jalife J, Kalman JM, Kautzner J, Kottkamp H, Kuck KH, Kumagai K, Lee R, Lewalter T, Lindsay BD, Macle L, Mansour M, Marchlinski FE, Michaud GF, Nakagawa H, Natale A, Nattel S, Okumura K, Packer D, Pokushalov E, Reynolds MR, Sanders P, Scanavacca M, Schilling R, Tondo C, Tsao HM, Verma A, Wilber DJ, Yamane T. 2017 HRS/EHRA/ECAS/APHRS/SOLAECE expert consensus statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation. Heart Rhythm. 2017 Oct;14(10):e275-e444. doi: 10.1016/j.hrthm.2017.05.012. Epub 2017 May 12. No abstract available.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Atrial Fibrillation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Arrhythmias, CardiacHeart DiseasesCardiovascular DiseasesPathologic ProcessesPathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Central Study Contacts

Wenzheng Han, M.D, PhD

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
PARTICIPANT
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Associate Chief Physician; Administrative Deputy Director, Department of Cardiology

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

December 21, 2025

First Posted

January 6, 2026

Study Start

January 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2027

Last Updated

January 6, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-12

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share