Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...
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Dr. Douglas L. Packer, MD, FHRS, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
"Jill and I put you and your work in our prayers every night. What you do to help people through this [A-Fib] process is really incredible."
Jill and Steve Douglas, East Troy, WI
“I really appreciate all the information on your website as it allows me to be a better informed patient and to know what questions to ask my EP.
Faye Spencer, Boise, ID, April 2017
“I think your site has helped a lot of patients.”Dr. Hugh G. Calkins, MD Johns Hopkins,
Baltimore, MD
N. Marrouche MD
AF Symposium 2017
A-Fib Increases Fibrosis by 5%-10% Per Year
Dr. Nassir Marrouche of the University of Utah (CARMA), Salt Lake City, UT continued his ground-breaking work using MRI to investigate Atrial Fibrillation.
Some of the major contributions Dr. Marrouche’s MRI research has made include that patients with high fibrosis levels are at greater risk of stroke and that they may be precluded from a successful catheter ablation.
(For more about stroke risk, see Dr. Marrouche’s High Fibrosis at Greater Risk of Stroke and Precludes Catheter Ablation: Lessons Learned from the DECAAF Trial.)
Fibrosis Develops Rapidly, Within One Year
Dr. Marrouche’s latest research shows that about 35% of patients with A-Fib will experience more than 5%-10% of fibrotic changes within 1 year. (This is a frightening statistic, since fibrosis is currently considered irreversible.)
He also described how the more fibrosis a patient has, the more likely the patient will have a recurrence after an A-Fib ablation.
He also showed how current MRI testing also measures fibrosis in 3D to better gauge its thickness.
New Study Ablating Fibrosis
Dr. Marrouche also described a new clinical trial (DECAAF II) that will compare standard Pulmonary Vein Isolation (PVI) ablation to ablation of fibrosis areas. See http://www.decaaf.org
What Patients Need To Know
A-Fib produces fibrosis quickly and harms your heart permanently. This fibrosis produces collagen and scarring in the heart which is a permanent remodeling effect of A-Fib.
And what a wake-call for A-Fib patients―that A-Fib fibrosis can and does develop so rapidly! Within one year of living in A-Fib, your heart can become 10% fibrotic which is irreversible. How truly frightening!
Dr. Marrouche’s Message: Don’t live in A-Fib! The message from Dr. Marrouche’s research is obvious. Don’t live in A-Fib!!! Do everything you can to be restored to normal sinus rhythm.
Return to 2017 AF Symposium Reports
If you find any errors on this page, email us. ♥ Last updated: Monday, March 6, 2017
