The November 2009 American Heart Association meeting in Orlando, Florida, – the largest cardiology meeting in the nation – drew outstanding representation from the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute and St. David's Medical Center. Our group presented eight abstracts, which is an exceptional accomplishment for a meeting of this caliber.
Among the research topics presented were our findings from the first study on the convergent approach to the treatment of atrial fibrillation. As explained by my colleague, Dr. Rodney Horton, “The study represents the first combined surgical and electrophysiological approach to treating the most challenging atrial fibrillation patients without any chest incisions or ports.”
Our findings were significant. All patients left the procedure room in normal sinus rhythm (normal heartbeat and normal heart rate). What’s more exciting is that 80 percent of patients remained in normal sinus rhythm and off anti-arrhythmic drugs six months later.