New AFib Treatments

There are a variety of options available to treat AFib. The treatment you and your doctor choose depends on many factors, including whether you have other problems with your heart and if you’re able to take medications to control your heart rhythm.

Generally, the goals for treating AFib are to:

• Prevent blood clots to decrease the risk of strokes
• Control heart rate
• Reset or manage the heart’s rhythm

If your symptoms are bothersome, your doctor may attempt to reset your heart’s rhythm. This can be accomplished through the use of medications called anti-arrhythmics and/or through a procedure called electrical cardioversion.

If your AFib is caused by an anatomical defect of the heart system, you may require treatment through a medical procedure. The Orlando Health Heart and Vascular Institute offers the most up-to-date technology and procedures available for safe, effective treatment of AFib.

Advanced procedures available from our multidisciplinary team include:

Catheter-based cryoablation

This type of cardiac ablation uses cold energy to scar and destroy tissue in the heart to disrupt faulty electrical signals causing the irregular heartbeat. The cold energy is released through a catheter or a small tube inserted at the groin into an artery leading to the heart.

Radiofrequency ablation

This form of cardiac ablation uses heat energy to scar and destroy tissue in the heart to disrupt faulty electrical signals causing the irregular heartbeat. The heat energy is released through a catheter or a small tube inserted at the groin into an artery leading to the heart.

Hybrid-maze ablation procedure

This minimally invasive surgical treatment, done in two stages, combines the best of electrophysiology and cardiac surgery treatments to help restore a normal heart rhythm. In the first stage, without actually opening the chest, the surgeon uses radiofrequency waves to create specific scar lines on the heart’s surface to destroy the electrical signals that cause the heart to beat irregularly. In the second stage, a cardiac electrophysiologist performs catheter ablation using cold or heat energy to create more scars inside of the heart. This procedure reverses AFib by putting the heart backinto rhythm while offering a quick recovery.

Traditional maze procedure

The surgeon creates a maze-like pattern of lesions on the surface of the heart to channel the heart’s natural electrical signals to regulate the heartbeat.

Left atrial appendage closure procedure (LAAC) The Watchman™ Device Implant

This procedure reduces the risk of stroke in people with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AFib not caused by heart valve problems). This is an option for AFib patients who cannot be treated with the blood thinner warfarin due to bleeding concerns. In this minimally invasive procedure, the physician places the WatchmanÔ  Implant to close the left atrial appendage in the heart, preventing the possibility of stroke by stopping potentially harmful blood clots from entering the blood stream and traveling to the brain.