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Sport & Health

New technology against atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation

The cardiology department at the Ordensklinikum Linz Elisabethinen uses a worldwide new technology for medical interventions to treat atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common cardiac arrhythmias and affects around one to two per cent of the population in Austria. It is an electrical disorder of the atria that overrides the sinus node (pulse generator). As a result, the atria no longer contract properly.

Thermal intervention methods

The aim of medical interventions for the treatment of atrial fibrillation is to eliminate the spread of the electrical fibrillation waves; until now, two methods have been used - both thermal, explains Helmut Pürerfellner, cardiologist at the Order Hospital Linz Elisabethinen. One disadvantage of thermal methods, however, is that they can cause damage to organs close to the heart.

Gentler and faster

The new method uses a probe and is gentler on the surrounding tissue. "With this new probe, we have a balloon. This balloon is inflated with water when it is in the heart. It has metal parts on the outside, and these can then release energy that is neither cold nor heat-thermal. This is extremely effective and also very gentle on the heart," says Pürerfellner. In addition, the duration of the procedure has been reduced from four hours to around one hour. Heart specialists around the world are extremely interested in the new surgical method.

 

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Source: red, ooe.ORF.at

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