Pachón Arrhythmia ServiceCardioneuroablation Program

Scientific Activity in 2026

The group that first described cardioneuroablation (CNA) in 2005 continues to teach and publish on the technique. This page presents a selected record of the 2026 scientific activity of Prof. José Carlos Pachón Mateos: invited lectures, session chairmanships, and proctoring visits with live cases. Entries are listed as recorded in the group's calendar; please see the note at the end of this page.

Speaker at a podium beside a large screen displaying the slide 'Tailoring CNA According to Vagal Domains' at Prague Rhythm 2026.

Podium at Prague Rhythm 2026, Prague, May 2026; on screen, the slide 'Tailoring CNA According to Vagal Domains.'

Scientific Events, January–June 2026

January

Date: January 24, 2026

11th Asia Cardiac Arrhythmia Summit (ACAS 2026)

Location:
Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China (Hyatt Regency Xi'an)
Role:
Faculty — Forum on Cardiac Autonomic Innervation I
Topic:
"Uptodate on Cardioneuroablation: From Fundamentals to Clinical Practice" (15-minute lecture)
Prof. José Carlos Pachón Mateos lecturing at the podium at ACAS 2026 in Xi'an; the screen shows syncope-free survival curves comparing cardioneuroablation with the control group.

Podium at the 11th Asia Cardiac Arrhythmia Summit (ACAS 2026), Xi'an, January 2026; on screen, syncope-free survival curves from the cardioneuroablation lecture.

February

Date: February 18, 2026

The Beat, Episode 22 — Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) international webinar

Location:
Virtual (international webinar)
Role:
Faculty
Topic:
"Update on Cardiac Pacing Therapy" — the first edition of the program conducted entirely in Spanish
Date: February 27–28, 2026 (lecture on February 27)

Arritmias 2026 — Portugal's national arrhythmology meeting

Location:
Cascais, Portugal (Hotel Cascais Miragem)
Role:
Invited speaker
Topic:
"Cardioneuroablation, from Syncope to Atrial Fibrillation: A New Therapeutic Frontier" (original title: "Cardioneuroablação, da síncope à fibrilhação auricular: uma nova fronteira terapêutica")
Prof. José Carlos Pachón Mateos at the podium during Arritmias 2026 in Cascais, Portugal; the podium display reads 'Prof. José Carlos Pachón, Arritmias 2026.'

Podium at Arritmias 2026, Cascais, Portugal, February 2026 — lecture 'Cardioneuroablation, from Syncope to Atrial Fibrillation: A New Therapeutic Frontier.'

April

Date: April 23–26, 2026

Heart Rhythm 2026 — HRS Annual Scientific Sessions

Location:
Chicago, Illinois, USA (McCormick Place)
Role:
Chair of the joint HRS/LAHRS session "New Frontiers at Device Indications and Implantation" (April 25), alongside Ricardo Alkmim Teixeira; the session addressed devices, implantation techniques, and ablation
Also recorded:
Participation in the April 24 reception of the editorial boards of the HRS journals (Heart Rhythm, HeartRhythm Case Reports, Heart Rhythm O2)

May

Date: May 9, 2026

Ritmo 360 (Medtronic)

Location:
Not recorded in the source calendar
Role:
Speaker — the meeting was the first of its kind to combine implantable devices and cardiac ablation in a single program
Topic:
"CSP as First Choice for Preventing Pacemaker-Induced Cardiomyopathy" (original title: "CSP como primeira escolha para prevenção de miocardiopatia induzida pelo marcapasso")
Date: May 12–13, 2026

Proctoring and live cases — Centro Hospitalar de Vila Nova de Gaia

Location:
Porto, Portugal
Role:
Proctoring team — presentations on cardioneuroablation and on the Vagal AF Induction Test (VAFIT), followed by four demonstrated procedures (one on May 12, three on May 13)
Three physicians in surgical attire inside an electrophysiology laboratory; a monitor displays a three-dimensional electroanatomic map of the heart.

In the electrophysiology laboratory at Centro Hospitalar de Vila Nova de Gaia during the proctoring visit, Porto, May 2026; the monitor displays a three-dimensional electroanatomic map.

Physician in blue scrubs pointing at a large screen showing ECG and intracardiac tracings labeled 'VAFIT — Vagal AF Induction Test' and 'VAFIT Positive.'

Prof. José Carlos Pachón Mateos presents ECG and intracardiac tracings of the Vagal AF Induction Test (VAFIT) during the teaching session in Porto, May 2026.

Group photograph of physicians in scrubs and white coats, seated and standing in a hospital meeting room during a proctoring course.

Physicians attending the proctoring course at Centro Hospitalar de Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto, May 2026.

Date: May 14–15, 2026

Proctoring and live cases — Hospital de Santa Marta

Location:
Lisbon, Portugal
Role:
Proctoring team — presentation and case series using the VOLT and DUO platforms
Date: May 16, 2026, 08:10–08:30 (GMT+7, Jakarta time)

Virtual lecture — Indonesia

Location:
Virtual; the host institution is not recorded in the source calendar
Role:
Invited speaker
Topic:
"New Perspective in Vasovagal Management: Focus on CNA"
Main screen of the JAKC Rhythm (Jakarta Cardiac Rhythm) conference hall displaying the virtual lecture 'New Perspective in Vasovagal Management: Focus on Cardioneuroablation (CNA)' with the speaker's portrait and credentials.

Main screen at the JAKC Rhythm conference (Jakarta Cardiac Rhythm), Jakarta, May 2026, during the virtual lecture 'New Perspective in Vasovagal Management: Focus on Cardioneuroablation (CNA).'

Date: May 17–19, 2026

Prague Rhythm 2026

Location:
Prague, Czech Republic
Role:
International faculty, with two lectures:
  1. "Vagal AF Induction Test (VAFIT): A New Endpoint for Optimalization of AF Ablation?" — May 18, 18:45
  2. "History of Cardioneuroablation and AF Nests" — May 19, 08:00
Wide view of the Prague Rhythm 2026 stage, with a speaker at the podium, two panelists seated nearby, and the slide 'Tailoring CNA According to Vagal Domains' on the main screen.

Wide view of the Prague Rhythm 2026 stage, Prague, May 2026, with the slide 'Tailoring CNA According to Vagal Domains' projected beside the podium.

June

Date: June 4–6, 2026

SOCESP Congress 2026

Location:
São Paulo, Brazil
Role:
Panelist in three medical round tables:
  1. June 4 — within "Current Topics in Artificial Cardiac Pacing" ("Tópicos atuais em estimulação cardíaca artificial"): "Pacemaker or Cardioneuroablation in Refractory Vasovagal Syncope?" ("Marcapasso ou cardioneuroablação na síncope vasovagal refratária?")
  2. June 5 — "Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT): From Patient Selection to Outcome Optimization" ("Terapia de ressincronização cardíaca (CRT): da seleção do paciente à otimização do resultado")
  3. June 6 — "Syncope in Clinical Practice" ("Síncope na prática clínica")
Date: June 14, 2026, 12:15–12:30 (event local time)

Online lecture — Russia

Location:
Virtual; the congress name is not recorded in the source calendar
Role:
Invited speaker
Topic:
"Cardioneuroablation and the origin of neurocardiogenic syncope according to species evolution" — the same program block also included Vadim Fedorov (Columbus, USA) and Alexander Romanov (Novosibirsk)

In Preparation / In Progress

The items below are planning activities recorded in the same period. They are listed separately because they are not scientific events; no dates or outcomes are confirmed at this time.

Planning meetings are underway for the 2026 World Congress on Cardioneuroablation.

A book on cardioneuroablation is in preparation with Springer.

A protocol review with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is underway within the Tacti-Flex project with Abbott.

This page presents a selected record of the group's 2026 scientific activity, compiled from calendar records that document scheduling and invitations; conference agendas are subject to change.

What This Means for Patients

Scientific meetings are where techniques like cardioneuroablation are examined, compared, and taught to other physicians. For patients considering this procedure, this ongoing work means the team's methods continue to be presented to, and questioned by, international peers.

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