Zhang X, et al. - In this prospective, single-center, randomized study, researchers determined the impact of restricting contact force (CF) to <20 g on the risk for esophageal injury (EI) in patients (n=89, mean age, 57.2±11.3 years; 57.3% men) with atrial fibrillation (68.5% paroxysmal and 31.5% persistent) undergoing circumferential pulmonary vein isolation. They randomized the participants to a restricted-CF group with 44 patients or non-CF group with 45 patients, with circumferential pulmonary vein isolation using a CF-sensing (CF restricted to <20 g) or non–CF-sensing catheter, respectively. Findings revealed a minimization of EI risk in relation to restricting CF to <20 g at the posterior left atrial wall, where the circumferential pulmonary vein isolation lesion set and the course of the esophagus overlapped in all participants.