Different Approaches to Treating Atrial Fibrillation

​Using artificial intelligence, scientists have found more effective ways to detect irregular heart rhythms using atrial fibrillation (AFib) mapping. The process has proven successful at generating optical maps of localized organized AFib sites in both animals and human beings. After identifying these sites, physicians can effectively treat them with minimally invasive ablation. Introduced into the body through a small incision, an ablation catheter can safely cause scarring on the inside of the heart, interrupting the electrical signals that lead to the irregular heartbeat.

Traditionally, surgeons have used both an ablation catheter and an AFib mapping catheter for this kind of AFib procedure. For left atrial access, this approach requires a double transseptal puncture, which creates two small surgical passages through the atrial septum of the heart. In the 2020s, surgeons began using a single transseptal puncture method that created a single surgical passage to include both an ablation catheter and a mapping catheter.

A recent study has shown that both the double and single transseptal puncture approach have favorable long-term patient outcomes. The single transseptal puncture approach offers several potential advantages, including less time under fluoroscopy x-rays and a reduced risk of acute complications.

Sanjiv Narayan

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