JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – AFib, an irregular and often very fast heart rhythm, can lead to blood clots in the heart and significantly increase the chance of someone having a stroke.
Now, more doctors are using a transformative way to treat patients with AFib called a concomitant procedure.
Think of it like a 2-in-1 special that treats AFib by using high-energy pulses that do not use any heat to create controlled scar tissue and block abnormal electrical signals.
At the same time, doctors are plugging up the part of the heart that is a source for blood clots, using a device called the WATCHMAN.
“You basically prevent the patient from having more than one procedure,” said Dr. Morhaf Ibrahim, an electrophysiologist at HCA Florida Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville. “You can prevent the patient from having too many procedures. That is actually safer and more effective to do both of them at the same time.”
In most cases, Ibrahim says, patients can go home the same day and return to their normal activities quickly. In one case within the last year, he treated a woman who was impressed with her swift recovery.
“I had one patient who drove herself,” Ibrahim said. “She was 91 years old. She did not really have anybody to take her back home, so we kept her [overnight at the hospital] and then the next day, she drove herself back to her town, which was about one hour away from here. The procedure is safe, effective, and the recovery is pretty quick.”
Ibrahim says he has treated about 100 people with the dual procedure within the last nine months.
He called it a major breakthrough in medical technology.
“I usually tell my patients that back in the day in the 1980s and the 1990s, we used to treat atrial fibrillation with some medications and holding hands,” Ibrahim said. ”Nowadays, guess what? We can treat the stroke risk, and we can treat the arrhythmia itself at the same time with effectiveness and safety."
Not every AFib patient is a candidate for the procedure, so it is imperative for people to consult with their doctor.