What is the recommended action if a steam pop occurs during RF ablation?

• A. Pause RF, reassess tissue and catheter stability, switch to lower energy or switch modality.
• B. Immediately switch to higher energy.
• C. Ignore and continue.
• D. Remove catheter and abort procedure.

Answer: (A)

Steam pops happen when tissue overheats enough to boil water inside, risking tissue rupture and possible perforation. The best way to handle this is to pause the radiofrequency energy immediately, then reassess what’s going on. Check the catheter’s stability and tissue contact because a pop can be linked to abrupt changes in contact or positioning. After stopping energy, reduce the amount of heating—lower the power or shorten the application duration—or switch to a different modality such as cryoablation, which creates lesions without heating and can be safer when you’re dealing with fragile or hard-to-ablate tissue. This approach protects surrounding structures, minimizes ongoing tissue injury, and allows you to decide the safest path forward for achieving the desired lesion.