New Procedure To Cure Atrial Fibrillation

A large number of people fall prey to the condition of atrial fibrillation; which is left untreated can be fatal as well. There are, however, very less initiatives that have been made to better the condition of those suffering from atrial fibrillation.

There is hope for those suffering from the condition now, owing to a London cardiologist who has created a pioneering procedure that will help control the condition and treat it. It has already successfully been performed on 12 patients. It is now due to enter clinical trials.

What Is Atrial Fibrillation?

Atrial Fibrillation is a heart condition which occurs when faulty electrical signals interfere with the smooth functioning of the heart. This happens because the two upper chambers of the heart, the atria, begin to quiver instead of beating like they should; and this puts the heartbeat out of rhythm.

They are no longer in sync with the lower halves of the heart, the ventricles; and this causes a problem with the primary function of the heart – which is to pump blood. In some cases, the blood will clot and this could enter the arteries. If this happens, it could lead to a stroke.

Ablation

Ablation is an invasive therapy that includes a catheter with an electrical wire and electrode at the end being passed through the heart. When it reaches the spot where the faulty signal is originating from, it will burn a ring of dots around it, thus creating a scar tissue barrier. This barrier will help block the signal.

Cryotheraphy

In Cryotheraphy, the doctors pass a tiny balloon into the affected area to block the signal. Some sort of ‘freezing gas’ is then pumped in via the catheter and it destroys the tissue around the affected area. It works like a frostbite would have.

The New Procedure

Unfortunately, both these methods aren’t foolproof. If any kind of leak develops in the ring, the tissue might repair itself; causing for a recurrence. This is seen to happen in 40% of the cases.

The new procedure uses the best of the both worlds. It tries to play on the advantages of both the methods – ablation and cryotheraphy. It also tries to minus out the disadvantages, which is what makes it more effective. In this procedure, the first dot of rings is used to block out the faulty signal; and then the second circle is frozen up, in the hope that the chances of a recurrence will be cut out.

This new technique will be even more effective in the case of patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation; which is seen to have a higher rate of recurrence.

Last year, the sports rugby league commentator – Mike Stephenson, better known as ‘Stevo’; was the first one to have this sort of treatment. He hasn’t had any signs of a relapse ever since the new form of surgery was conducted on him.