Doctors at St Michael's Hospital in Toronto have developed a two-stage treatment for atrial fibrillation, or AFib, that they say is a first in Canada, Global News reports.
AFib, the most common heart rhythm disorder, affects around one to two per cent of people and can lead to stroke or heart failure. It is usually treated with medication or catheter ablation, in which small scars are created inside the heart to block faulty electrical signals, but that does not work for every patient.
The new approach, devised by surgeon Dr Gianluigi Bisleri and cardiologist Dr Paul Angaran, first uses minimally invasive robotic surgery to treat the outside of the heart, followed weeks or months later by a catheter procedure inside it. Global News spoke to an Edmonton patient previously told his enlarged heart ruled out surgery. Patients need a referral to take part.
Source: Global News
