Heart Health

Advanced Atrial Fibrillation

Baptist Health is now offering a hybrid minimally invasive cardiac ablation and left atrial appendage occlusion for atrial fibrillation, known as a Convergent Plus operation.

Available at Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock, this operation utilizes the EPi-Sense STâ„¢ Coagulation Device, the latest innovation available to treat the 3.5 million patients suffering from advanced atrial fibrillation (AFib) in the U.S.

Ablation is a way to create scar lines that help reduce the burden of arrhythmias. The left atrial appendage is a blind pouch on the back of the heart that is the source of the majority of strokes when a patient is in atrial fibrillation. Clipping or excluding it reduces the stroke risk dramatically.

When a person has AFib, the normal beating in the upper chambers of the heart (the two atria) is irregular, and blood doesn’t flow as well as it should from the atria to the lower chambers of the heart (the two ventricles). Symptoms of advanced AFib may include shortness of breath, lightheadedness, fainting, weakness, lack of energy, chest pain or angina.

The minimally invasive hybrid procedure involves epicardial ablation (outside of the heart) plus endocardial ablation (inside of the heart), thereby treating two key trigger areas where AFib can begin. It is a beating heart operation that doesn’t require a heart-lung bypass (cardiopulmonary bypass) or an open sternotomy. Many patients who were treated with the EPi-Sense STâ„¢ Coagulation Device in a clinical study of more than 1,000 participants reported an improvement in their quality of life and AFib symptoms.

One in 4 adults over age 40 will develop atrial fibrillation in their lifetime, according to data from the American Heart Association. AFib affects an estimated 37 million people worldwide, and about 8 million people in the U.S. It also increases a person’s risk of stroke, heart failure, dementia and is linked with increased risk of mortality. Approximately 45% of patients with atrial fibrillation have advanced AFib.

Because AFib is a progressive condition, patients should receive optimal treatment before their arrhythmia worsens. If AFib is not properly treated, it leads to a higher risk of chronic fatigue, decreased activity level, diminished quality of life and sudden death. AFib has also been shown to increase a person’s risk of dementia, stroke, and heart failure.

For more information, call Baptist Health HealthLine at 1-888-BAPTIST or visit Baptist-Health.com.

A Fib Symptoms