Don’t Let AFib Slow You Down

MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute brings advanced AFib treatment to L.A. and O.C. residents

It’s projected that 12.1 million people will be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AFib) by 2030, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. AFib is characterized by a fast, irregular heartbeat which can lead to blood clots, stroke and heart failure. It is essential to catch AFib early to treat it effectively and help prevent these life-threatening illnesses resulting from an AFib diagnosis.

Traditional treatments have been available for years – such as medication or non-invasive therapy like cardioversion that patients would need to keep up with for the rest of their life or the need for surgery to implant a pacemaker.

At MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute, minimally invasive treatments and advanced procedures are getting AFib patients off lifelong medication, returning people to their lives sooner with safer procedures and better outcomes.

“At MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute, we’re dedicated to taking a minimally invasive approach to treating AFib,” says Nikhil Warrier, M.D., FACC, FHRS, medical director,

Electrophysiology, MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center. “We offer a spectrum of treatment options from medication management to less invasive catheter-based and surgical interventions. We are actively involved in clinical trials, testing new medications and technologies to ensure patients receive personalized, state-of-the-art care best suited to their needs.”

One of the unique minimally invasive procedures offered at MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute is catheter ablation – a non-surgical technique to pinpoint and interrupt abnormal heart rhythms using state-of-the-art mapping equipment to generate 3D images of the heart’s chambers. A thin catheter is inserted into a blood vessel in the groin and guided to the heart. The electrode on the catheter delivers energy to create a lesion to destroy the location of the electrical cells of the heart causing the arrhythmia.

“Catheter ablation is one of the treatment options we offer at MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute,” explains Mark Lee, M.D.,

FACC, medical director, Electrophysiology, MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Long Beach Medical Center. “Ablation is one of the most definitive treatments we have for AFib that is minimally invasive, and patients have a relatively high success rate.”

In addition, the MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute offers the WATCHMAN™ device to treat people with non-valvular AFib. This permanent implant closes off the left atrial appendage, where blood can pool and clot. By closing the appendage, blood clots cannot escape to another part of the body, which helps decrease a patient’s risk for stroke.

“Patients that undergo this procedure are always impressed with the results,” says Howard Frumin, M.D., medical director, Electrophysiology, MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Saddleback Medical Center. “Most of the patients referred to us were interested in the procedure to get off blood thinners and have a better quality of life thanks to the WATCHMAN™ device.”

Everyone deserves to live a life without medication or invasive treatments. To learn more, please visit memorialcare.org/heart.