Atrial Fibrillation Treatment Improves

08/01/08 Treatment Options

Patients with atrial fibrillation have faced a quandary for years when it comes to treatment. Reported side effects of the medication they take are often more disturbing than the drugs.

Atrial fibrillation is an erratic heart beat which causes a racing heart and decreases the pumping mechanism. That prevents blood from flowing to the organs, particularly the brain. Medications often cause change in blood pressure, dizziness, and fainting which are little improvement from the condition itself. An alternative to conventional treatment is a procedure called ablation. This is where the nerve fibers that trigger the random impulses are neutralized by means of radiofrequency.

Ablation has traditionally been performed by inserting a catheter into a major vessel and threading it to the heart to reach the responsible nerve. It has its drawbacks in obese patients whose vessels are difficult to visualize under fluoroscopy (similar to x-rays) and are at high risk for blood clotting. Individuals with previous cardiac surgery and resultant scar tissue, those with reduced ejection fraction (ineffective pumping of the heart), the elderly, and people who have chronic atrial fibrillation are not typically recommended for this procedure.

A variation on this procedure is done through a very small incision between the ribs, and is very much like laproscopic surgery. The high risk groups mentioned above are generally good candidates for this new method. Researchers found an 80 percent success rate after surgery. Some participants had atrial fibrillation right after the procedure, but then it stopped. Patients with chronic atrial fibrillation often have poor results with catheter ablation despite multiple attempts. They believe with epicardial (outside of the heart) ablation it will take but one procedure.

The numbers aren’t vast in this study, but they are enough to draw attention. While there are two epicardial techniques, that is a matter at the moment for surgeons and electrophysiologists (people who map the heart’s nerves). It is rapidly being accepted and applauded by the medical community and atrial fibrillation patients as a viable alternative.

This study was published in Heart Wire July 25, 2008.

Corie Richter is a nurse and physician's assistant who started her career as a health educator. The survivor of a myocardial infarction (heart attack) and partially successful quadruple bypass surgery, she did not let her health challenges hamper her. Neither the limitations of spinal surgery nor of diabetes have deterred her from a mission of service. She now encourages others through writing and speaking engagements to master their disabilities through education and a proactive attitude.