At Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium 2010, Dr. Andrea Natale shared with us some of the new directions in atrial fibrillation treatment, including the newer hybrid procedures combining catheter ablation and surgery for chronic or persistent atrial fibrillation, and contact force sensing.
See the video: Interview with Dr. Andrea Natale at Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium 2010
Boston Atrial Fibrillation Symposium will be this week, so watch for great info about the latest in atrial fibrillation causes and risk factors, and afib treatments, including medication, catheter ablation, and surgery.
If you’re going, please let me know so we can meet.
StopAfib will be tweeting again from Boston Afib (1/14/10-1/16/10), so please follow @StopAfib on Twitter.
How to follow StopAfib on Twitter and more about Boston Afib
If you have a problem getting Medicare, Medicare Advantage, or your health insurance plan to cover an atrial fibrillation treatment, such as an afib medication, catheter ablation, or mini maze surgery, you don’t have to take “no” for an answer. You can push back by requesting a “coverage determination” or submitting an appeal.
To learn how, read: How to Push Back if Medicare or Other Health Insurance Says “No” to Atrial Fibrillation Treatment
Research shows the sooner an atrial fibrillation surgical procedure is done, the less likely afib is to recur. People in permanent atrial fibrillation who underwent surgery for other heart diseases and had a left atrial ablation procedure for AF at the same time were more likely to be afib-free if the procedure was done within two years and their left atrium size was normal.
Study participants had atrial fibrillation procedures concomitant (at the same time) with open-heart mitral valve, aortic valve, or coronary artery bypass surgery. The procedures were done using either microwave or radiofrequency energy.
The study found that afib recurrence was not influenced by age, gender, primary heart disease, history of blood clots, technology, or use of antiarrhythmic drugs.
Read more: Atrial Fibrillation Procedure Within Two Years Reduces Risk of Afib Recurrence
If you’re in the Detroit or Lansing, MI areas, please come join us for complimentary afib patient education forums this week.
To learn more about each event, see the links below:
Detroit Atrial Fibrillation Treatment Education Events - 9/23/2009 & 9/24/2009
Lansing, Michigan Atrial Fibrillation Patient Education Forum - 9/25/2009
Pat Robertson, Founder and Chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), recently had the Convergent Procedure for his atrial fibrillation, which in this case was accompanied by removal of his left atrial appendage.
The Convergent Procedure for atrial fibrillation involves radio-frequency surgery followed by a radio-frequency catheter ablation, both of which are done in a special EP Lab outfitted for the dual-purpose of performing surgery and catheter ablation.
Dr. Andy C. Kiser, cardiothoracic surgeon, did Mr. Robertson’s surgery. That was followed immediately by Dr. Mark Landers, electrophysiologist, doing the catheter ablation. The surgery took place August 18 at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst, NC.
I had the distinct pleasure of observing Dr. Kiser and Dr. Landers do the same Convergent Procedure on another person the prior week. While Dr. Kiser doesn’t normally remove the left atrial appendage — I specifically asked him that question — I understand that in this case it was deemed appropriate because Mr. Robertson’s left atrial appendage was enlarged. That required moving him from the EP Lab to a full Operating Suite, and thus doubled the normal procedure time from the usual 4–6 hours to 10 hours.
More about the Convergent Procedure for Atrial Fibrillation (including the Ex-maze)
When I had my minimally-invasive procedure (surgery) for atrial fibrillation four years ago, my left atrial appendage was also removed. Doing so removes the majority of the stroke risk due to atrial fibrillation as the left atrial appendage is the source of at least 90% of the afib-related blood clots that cause stroke.
Mr. Robertson had been suffering from atrial fibrillation for several years. I, too, know personally the toll that atrial fibrillation takes. After surviving blood clots and a near-stroke during my first afib episode, I lived in constant fear that the next one would bring on a deadly stroke. In fact, I felt like I was “a stroke walking around waiting to happen.” Once cured of this irregular heartbeat by surgery, I couldn’t stand on the sidelines and watch others suffer so I started StopAfib.org to help those who were living the nightmare of atrial fibrillation.
Today, September 1, 2009, StopAfib.org celebrates the launch of Atrial Fibrillation Month. This marks our third year of celebrating Afib Month to raise awareness of atrial fibrillation. Afib is an expensive and life-threatening irregular heartbeat that is a common cause of stroke.
I have been pushing like crazy to find ways to raise awareness of afib for Atrial Fibrillation Month so that we can get people diagnosed and treated and thus decrease their risk of afib-related stroke. That is one of our goals, not just in the U.S., but worldwide.
More about Atrial Fibrillation Month
As I focused on how to get the word out even more than last year, my prayers were answered. All of the media attention around Mr. Robertson’s procedure is raising awareness of afib.
Thank you, Mr. Robertson, for bringing attention to atrial fibrillation. Thank you for all the lives that you will save.
For more info:
UPDATED 9-9-09: Dr. Kiser and Dr. Landers were featured on Pat Robertson’s The 700 Club on Tuesday, September 8 talking about the convergent procedure that they recently did on Mr. Robertson.
Watch the video…
In Part 2 of StopAfib.org’s video interview with Dr. Michael Argenziano, of NY-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, he discusses a trial that they are participating in that involves implanting a heart rhythm monitor after an atrial fibrillation procedure to see what a patient’s rhythm looks like five, ten, and even twenty years later.
Video Interview with Dr. Michael Argenziano About Atrial Fibrillation Surgery
By the way, Dr. Argenziano is a colleague of Dr. Oz (Oprah and YOU books).
In Part 1 of StopAfib.org’s video interview with Dr. Michael Argenziano, he discusses the atrial fibrillation surgery done at NY-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.
He covers the kind of surgery that he prefers for those with recent-onset paroxysmal atrial fibrillation as well as for those with one or more failed catheter ablations, for whom he favors a bi-atrial modified maze with lesions in the left and right atria.
He also talks about considerations for those with poor ventricular function or an enlarged left atrium, as well as a ganglionectomy for those whose atrial fibrillation arises in the abnormal nerve connections on the surface of the heart.
An interesting bit of trivia about Dr. Argenziano is that you may recognize the names of some of his heart surgeon colleagues, including Dr. Mehmet Oz, of Oprah fame and the YOU book series, and Dr. Craig Smith, who is well-known for doing Bill Clinton’s open-heart surgery. This team of heart surgeons was profiled in the fascinating book, The Surgeons.
Video Interview with Dr. Michael Argenziano About Atrial Fibrillation Surgery
Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the US federal government has allocated $1.1 billion for research into the comparative effectiveness of different medical treatments. New reports just out prioritize atrial fibrillation treatment on this comparative effectiveness research agenda.
Comparative effectiveness research has the potential to improve atrial fibrillation patient treatment and save healthcare costs.
Two reports just released by the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research and the Institute of Medicine outline the comparative effectiveness research priorities.
To learn more, read: Comparative Effectiveness Research for Atrial Fibrillation Treatment Is Listed as High Priority
StopAfib.org now has more atrial fibrillation information, updated references, and some sections have even been expanded. There are updates throughout, but especially check out the following areas:
We hope you enjoy the new StopAfib.org, the atrial fibrillation patient resource for you and your family. We’re for patients by patients.
