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

2022 AF Symposium

Spotlight Sessions: Features products or devices usually still in development or not yet FDA approved. They give us a glimpse into what the future of A-Fib treatment may look like.

Spotlight Session: Clinical Experience with the CLASS LAAO System

Dr. Jamie Kim

Dr. Jamie Kim of the Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, NH, presented one of the most innovative and promising new developments for patients to close off their Left Atrial Appendage (LAA).

The CLASS LAAO

Instead of relatively hard, rigid structures which don’t always conform perfectly to the LAA opening and thus may leak, the CLASS LAAO system from Conformal Medical, Inc. uses a different type of conformable foam-based fabric to seal off the LAA.

Complete Seal

The CLASS is designed to conform to a broader range of LAA sizes and shapes.

In the animation we saw, the foam-like material expanded from the insertion catheter to fill the interior of the irregularly shaped LAA. Dr. Kim says the seal made by the CLASS is complete.

Easier To Use, Wider Applicability

The CLASS LAAO system catheter

The CLASS device is soft which allows for both easier positioning when inserted and greater conformability. It also didn’t seem to have any metal protrusions as one sees in the Watchman.

It comes in only two sizes. It also uses rows of anchors to lock the device in place in the LAA. It’s designed with a flexible Nitinol under skeleton. It can be re-captured, if necessary.

To compare the Watchman with the CLASS, see my report: The Watchman Device. There’s also a brief animation of how the Watchman is installed: The Watchman FLXTM Device: Closure of the Left Atrial Appendage.