• Outstanding Representation at American Heart Association Meeting

  Nov

  25

  2009

  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.

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• Venice Arrhythmias Meeting a Phenomenal Success

  Nov

  04

  2009

  It was my pleasure to serve as Co-President of the 2009 of the Venice Arrhythmias meeting held in October 2009 in Venice Italy. It was an honor to serve with Dr. Raviele, who is President. The event was attended by electrophysiologists from around the world, who, along with enjoying a spectacular series of cultural and musical events, had the opportunity to share their experiences and ideas in the multifaceted field of EP.
  
  I was joined in this exciting four-day meeting by a number of my colleagues, and I am pleased to report that our presentations may now be viewed online. Visit http://www.venicearrhythmias.org/va2009_session.htm to view a schedule of presentations. Physicians from Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute who presented (in addition to myself) include Drs. David Burkhardt, Joseph Gallinghouse, Rodney Horton, Javier Sanchez, and Luigi DiBiase, who has spent time training with our group.
  
  I think you will enjoy viewing our video presentations, as they cover a range of topics pertinent to the treatment of electrophysiological disorders. The topics we presented include:
  
  • Ablation as the first line of therapy in young patients with lone AF (Natale)
  • Ablation and pace therapy in drug refractory AF (Natale)
  • Polymorphic VT and idiopathic VF (Natale)
  • Long-term results of ablation are as good as short-term results (Burckhardt)
  • LVOT tachycardia (Burckhardt)
  • Pulmonary Vein Antrum Isolation (Gallinghouse)
  Experience with robotic navigation systems in ablation (Gallinghouse)
  • Vagal AF (Horton)
  • Treatment of recurrences – When is a redo necessary? (Horton)
  • Elderly make good candidates for ablation (Sanchez)
  • Periprocedural complications (DiBiase)
  
  Many of our patients have come to know our nursing staff, who navigate patient care before and after procedures, and are involved in other activities such as research and data collection. Barbara Thomas, RN, director of Electrophysiology Services for Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, was the co-organizer of a program for the Allied Health Professional seminar (from the USA side). The program presented information that empowers nursing professionals to provide improved management of patients undergoing electrophysiology procedures. I was pleased that many of our nurses were able to attend the program and presented interesting topics that captured the audience's attention.

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• Maze Procedure

  Oct

  28

  2009
  People who have had a Maze procedure in the past often ask me if they will be able to have a cardiac ablation. For those reading who may be unfamiliar with the Maze procedure, let me explain. Maze is an open heart procedure that is performed to create a lesion that blocks an arrhythmia. In certain cases, the Maze is performed on patients who have an arrhythmia but also have other cardiac issues that require open heart surgery, such as blocked arteries.
  
  In most cases, patients who have had a Maze procedure in the past may have a cardiac ablation if their arrhythmia returns or if they develop new arrhythmias.

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• Will my electrophysiologist perform my ablation?

  Oct

  21

  2009
  This is a common question, and I am sometimes asked if I will personally perform my patient's ablation. The answer is always, "Yes." At Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute, the electrophysiologist whom a patient sees for a consult is the same one that performs that patient's ablation. The Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute here at St. David's Medical Center is an International Training Center; however, electrophysiologists from around the world may visit and learn from observation but they do not take part in the ablations that we perform. Patients are assured that only their personal electrophysiologist will perform their procedures.

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• Testing Before Consult

  Oct

  14

  2009
  Electrophysiology is a specialized form of cardiology that treats arrhythmias; therefore, our office sees only patients who have been formally diagnosed with an arrhythmia. The information that should be gathered prior to the first consult - and this will be explained to those who call for an appointment - includes medical records from a general cardiologist, EKGs and/or Holter monitor results, and echocardiogram test results.

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