Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...

"A-Fib.com is a great web site for patients, that is unequaled by anything else out there."

Dr. Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

"Jill and I put you and your work in our prayers every night. What you do to help people through this [A-Fib] process is really incredible."

Jill and Steve Douglas, East Troy, WI

“I really appreciate all the information on your website as it allows me to be a better informed patient and to know what questions to ask my EP.

Faye Spencer, Boise, ID, April 2017

“I think your site has helped a lot of patients.”

Dr. Hugh G. Calkins, MD Johns Hopkins,
Baltimore, MD

Doctors & patients are saying about 'Beat Your A-Fib'...

"If I had [your book] 10 years ago, it would have saved me 8 years of hell.”

Roy Salmon, Patient, A-Fib Free,
Adelaide, Australia

"This book is incredibly complete and easy-to-understand for anybody. I certainly recommend it for patients who want to know more about atrial fibrillation than what they will learn from doctors...."

Pierre Jaïs, M.D. Professor of Cardiology, Haut-Lévêque Hospital, Bordeaux, France

"Dear Steve, I saw a patient this morning with your book [in hand] and highlights throughout. She loves it and finds it very useful to help her in dealing with atrial fibrillation."

Dr. Wilber Su,
Cavanaugh Heart Center, Phoenix, AZ

"...masterful. You managed to combine an encyclopedic compilation of information with the simplicity of presentation that enhances the delivery of the information to the reader. This is not an easy thing to do, but you have been very, very successful at it."

Ira David Levin, heart patient,
Rome, Italy

"Within the pages of Beat Your A-Fib, Dr. Steve Ryan, PhD, provides a comprehensive guide for persons seeking to find a cure for their Atrial Fibrillation."

Walter Kerwin, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

2026 AF Symposium: Safety of Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) vs Radiofrequency Ablation for A-Fib

Published April 7, 2026

The 2026 AF Symposium had two full sessions with several speakers on the safety of Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) for treating Atrial Fibrillation, reflecting the increased scrutiny and challenges that have arisen with the rapid, widespread adoption of Pulsed Field Ablation.

Safety of PFA—Session 1: Complications Associated with Pulsed Field vs Radiofrequency Ablation for AF

Dr. Hugh Calkins (Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD) described how 28 years ago Pulmonary Vein Isolation/Ablation (PVI) with Radio Frequency (RF), i.e., thermal energy, became the cornerstone of treating A-Fib. The good news is that over time the complication rate for catheter ablation, i.e., Pulmonary Vein Isolation/Ablation, has decreased remarkedly down to less than 1% (from a high of 6%).

Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) has a low complication rate and is recognized as a major safety improvement over RF ablation. It avoids much of the damage seen with RF (thermal energy) ablation. Furthermore, it doesn’t harm adjacent tissue.

But according to Dr. Calkins, “sadly we are still discovering new complications.” Continue reading about PFA complications in my report->