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
Doctors & patients are saying about 'Beat Your A-Fib'...
"If I had [your book] 10 years ago, it would have saved me 8 years of hell.”
Roy Salmon, Patient, A-Fib Free, Adelaide, Australia
"This book is incredibly complete and easy-to-understand for anybody. I certainly recommend it for patients who want to know more about atrial fibrillation than what they will learn from doctors...."
Pierre Jaïs, M.D. Professor of Cardiology, Haut-Lévêque Hospital, Bordeaux, France
"Dear Steve, I saw a patient this morning with your book [in hand] and highlights throughout. She loves it and finds it very useful to help her in dealing with atrial fibrillation."
Dr. Wilber Su, Cavanaugh Heart Center, Phoenix, AZ
"...masterful. You managed to combine an encyclopedic compilation of information with the simplicity of presentation that enhances the delivery of the information to the reader. This is not an easy thing to do, but you have been very, very successful at it."
Ira David Levin, heart patient, Rome, Italy
"Within the pages of Beat Your A-Fib, Dr. Steve Ryan, PhD, provides a comprehensive guide for persons seeking to find a cure for their Atrial Fibrillation."
Walter Kerwin, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
2023 AF Symposium
Dr. Joseph Galvin, Dublin, Ireland
Live Case Presentation from Dublin, Ireland. Pulsed Field Ablation for AF Using a Multispline Catheter
The presenters of this live presentation were Drs. Joseph Galvin and Gabor Szeplaki from Mater Private Hospital in Ireland. They perform 800-900 ablations/year and have done 268 cases of Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA) using the Boston Scientific Farapulse system.
As we watched this live ablation, they used the optimized biphasic wave form for the PFA ablations. Dr. Szeplaki did the actual ablation while Dr. Galvin commented.
Dr. Gabor Szeplaki, Dublin, Ireland
No Lead Aprons
The first thing one noticed was that, instead of the typical Lead apron shields to protect against Fluoroscopy radiation, they were wearing what looked like plastic vests which were leadless. These transparent body shields included magnetic devices which communicated to radiation protection.
66-Year-Old Female with Common Right Atrium
The patient was a 66-year-old woman who had developed symptomatic paroxysmal A-Fib three years ago. She had been taking Sotalol but tolerated it poorly. They also had tried dronedarone, but she had symptoms.
Her CHA2DS2-VASc score was 3. She had hypertension. Her left atrium was otherwise healthy. She had a somewhat unusual pulmonary vein anatomy with what looked like a huge common right ostium. They used general anesthesia rather than conscious sedation.
Ablation Procedure
NOACs (Novel Oral Anticoagulants) were discontinued the morning of the procedure.
A TEE (Transesophageal Echocardiogram) was used to make sure there was no thrombus (clot) in the heart.
They used Ultrasound to position the catheter to puncture the vein. In the heart they used a single transseptal puncture to access the left atrium. They used the Orion catheter for 3-D mapping and paced from the Coronary Sinus.
The mapping software was integrated into the Farapulse system in real time, which is a great help to the EPs. The catheter sheaths were transparent so that they could better see and eliminate bubbles on the catheters.
Farapulse catheter Open-Basket configuration
Farapulse catheter – Five Petal Flower configuration
Each vein to be ablated received four basket and four petal ablations rotating the catheter each time for better coverage. (For a more detailed description of the Farapulse system, see my 2020 report, Pulsed Field Ablation—Emerging Tech for Atrial Fibrillation.)
They made sure that both exit and entrance block were achieved in each vein. As they ablated, the heart tissue on the screen changed from light red to dark red.
Even with the large common right ostium, they still used the 31mm catheter rather than the larger size. The patient was successfully ablated and returned to normal sinus rhythm.
Overall their results in their center are 96% vein isolation and 84% curable PVI.
Dr. Galvin commented that when they first started, PFA ablations were taking 6-7 hours. But now they are doing them in 40 minutes.
Editor’s Comments
PFA Ablation Easy, Safe and Effective: The Farapulse ablation protocol has become relatively easy and safe to do. The operators in Ireland seemed very proficient, confident, and experienced. For them this was no big deal and almost routine. This is great news for patients. 40 minutes is a very short time to perform an ablation. And with no complications.
PFA Not Yet Approved in U.S.―But Will Be Soon. PFA ablation is not yet approved in the U.S., but has been approved overseas and has been in use for some time. Panelists from Germany pointed out that PFA ablation is now done on an out-patient basis with no need to stay in a hospital overnight. This is all good news for U.S. patients with Atrial Fibrillation.
Transparent Radiation Shields Great Advance: And using these transparent shields to protect against radiation exposure is a huge advance for EPs doing ablations.
I’ve been in operating rooms and had to wear those lead aprons used today by most EPs. They are really heavy and wear you down by the end of the day. All too many EPs develop slipped disks or other back problems. And reducing or eliminating radiation exposure improves EPs health and peace of mind. Good news for EPs!
If you find any errors on this page, email us.Y Last updated: Thursday, May 11, 2023