The Heart Institute of SIUH performs a minimally invasive Hybrid A-Fib Ablation procedure

Atrial fibrillation (A-Fib) is the most common type of heart arrhythmia (a heart beat that is too fast, too slow, or irregular), and may affect as many as 2.7 million Americans. What may start with a brief feeling of a fluttering or skipped heartbeat can progress to include symptoms such as strong heart palpitations, rapid pulse, shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, and fainting. Early diagnosis and treatment of A-Fib are essential as the longer it goes untreated, the higher the risk factor for potentially fatal complications.

Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH), a member of Northwell Health, is home to The Heart Institute, one of the nation’s foremost cardiac care centers. Patients turn to them for the most progressive cardiac diagnostics, treatment, post-surgical outpatient care, and cardiac prevention programs. They can diagnose A-Fib painlessly with an electrocardiogram (EKG), and correct it with minimally invasive procedures.

There are many possible causes of AFib, including a leaky mitral valve, coronary disease, congenital heart defects, overactive thyroid gland, scar tissue from previous heart surgery, sleep apnea, stress, and exposure to stimulants such as caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, and certain medications. This can reduce blood flow and result in stroke or heart failure.

The Daily News spoke with cardiothoracic surgeon Alexander Wohler, MD from The Heart Institute of SIUH about their Hybrid Atrial Fibrillation Ablation program, which he co-developed with electrophysiologist Marcin Kowalski, MD. The team first performed this procedure combining convergent ablation with catheter ablation, in 2014. Today, there are still just a few hospitals in the New York metropolitan area that offer this life-saving procedure (none are in Manhattan).

Traditional treatments for A-Fib generally start with a combination of medications that Dr. Wohler described as “woefully insufficient” in many cases as a long-term solution. “Patients with long-standing symptoms can still be at risk of stroke from A-Fib, even if they’ve had good results from medications,” Dr. Wohler explained. “In addition to medications that treat the heart rhythm, patients must take blood thinners, which have to be monitored closely and come with their own set of risks.”

Hybrid A-Fib Ablation combines minimally invasive surgery and a catheterbased approach to block or “ablate” the irregular rhythm using epicardial and endocardial catheters to freeze and cauterize the heart muscle on the areas from which A-Fib typically arises. Dr. Wohler makes tiny incisions in the abdomen, and then uses a videoscope to gain access to the affected area of the heart. It is then treated with radiofrequency energy that essentially shuts down the abnormal impulses in that section of the heart. Next, Dr. Kowalski uses a balloon-tipped catheter, inserted through a blood vessel in the groin area, to ablate additional areas from inside the heart. Hybrid A-Fib Ablation restores the heart’s natural electrical impulses. “With just three small incisions in the abdomen, it is much less invasive than the open-heart surgery of the gold standard Cox Maze IV procedure,” said Dr. Wohler. “The hybrid procedure gives patients the best bang for their buck, especially for people who are hard to treat, because it has results comparable to Maze while being minimally invasive.”

While Hybrid A-Fib Ablation procedures can differ from hospital to hospital, success rates are up to 85% and patients can usually go home within 48 hours and get back to their normal routine within a few days. You may be a good candidate for this ground-breaking procedure if you have chronic or hard-to-treat A-Fib, tried prior catheter ablations without success, have had problems taking blood thinners.

For more information or to make an appointment, call (718) 226-6210 or (718) 226-1605, or visit www.theheart instituteny.com.