Doctors & patients are saying about 'A-Fib.com'...

"A-Fib.com is a great web site for patients, that is unequaled by anything else out there."

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

MAM 2016: Fantastic 3-D Experience of the Heart or Why We Were Wearing 3-D glasses!

fantastic-voyage-ship-in-vein-400-x-300-pix-at-300-res

The movie won an Oscar for Best Special Visual Effects; Image: Foresight Institute

by Steve S. Ryan, PhD

In 1966, the wide-screen movie Fantastic Voyage took viewers inside the human body by injecting a miniaturized submarine, its crew and a surgical team into the carotid artery. Their mission was to break up a clot and save the VIP patient. Traveling through the heart to the brain, reveals a world of dazzling color, a floating wonderland with huge red corpuscles, whirling globules, platelets and particles.

I had that same amazing experience when Dr. Joris Ector presented his incredible 3-D vision of a real heart. Just like when watching the movie, there were involuntary gasps and shocks as you felt what it was like to move through the heart.

And yes, we had to wear 3-D glasses! That’s got to be a first at an A-Fib conference.

Joris Ector MD, with 3D glasses at MAM 2016 - A-Fib.com

Joris Ector MD, wearing 3D glasses; Inset: the exterior of the 3-D heart

Starting with the exterior of a beating heart, Dr. Ector, from the University of Leuven, Belgium, showed every possible 3-D angle.

Next, he peeled away the exterior to reveal the movement of the heart from the inside. Next, he whisked you inside the heart so fast that you almost got dizzy.

Particularly interesting was the trip through the left atrium into the Left Atrial Appendage (LAA) with its trabeculations (thick muscular tissue bands) which looked like columns in close-up.

In some ways, Dr. Ector’s presentation felt more real and comprehensive than watching footage of an actual heart beating. It was an astounding experience (just like watching Fantastic Voyage in 1966). (I wish I had an interior of the 3-D heart to share with you.)

Image credit: Fantastic Voyage movie still from Foresight Institute