The Right Rhythm

The Right Rhythm
New CryoAblation Technique Treats Irregular Heartbeat


Cool Treatment A catheter is inserted into a vein in the patient’s leg and threaded to the heart, where it delivers energy to treat the patient’s arrhythmia. By cooling the tip of a CryoAblation catheter to sub-zero temperatures, the cells in the heart responsible for conducting the arrhythmia are altered so that they no longer conduct electrical impulses.

If you have atrial fibrillation and medication isn’t enough to keep your heart rhythm under control, your doctor might recommend a new technique called CryoAblation to restore your heartbeat to its normal rhythm. This minimally invasive procedure regulates your heartbeat by freezing the cardiac tissue or pathways that block your heart’s normal electrical impulses. Inova Heart and Vascular Institute currently offers the third-largest CryoAblation program in the country.

“Our goal is to render patients free of symptomatic atrial fibrillation and off medicines,” says Ted Friehling, MD, Medical Director of Electrophysiology, Inova Fairfax Hospital.

Most arrhythmias don’t pose a dramatic risk. But some, such as atrial fibrillation, can be serious or even life-threatening if left untreated. People with untreated atrial fibrillation have a five-times higher risk of stroke and are at increased risk of developing heart failure.

Cold Energy

Every time your heart beats, it delivers an electrical impulse, signaling the muscle walls to contract and pump blood to the
rest of the body. Sometimes the signals become more rapid from veins in the left atrium, causing atrial fibrillation.

CryoAblation restores the heart’s normal rhythm by freezing the tissue around those veins. It is a technique that has proven more effective than the traditional method of using heat. During the procedure, a catheter is threaded from a vein in the groin to the left upper chamber of your heart. A balloon at the tip of the catheter is inflated, through which a coolant is released to freeze and ablate abnormal tissue. X-rays are used to visualize the area of the heart requiring treatment.

“This is a revolutionary technique,” says Dr. Friehling. “The procedure is safer, shorter and uses less radiation when compared to radiofrequency catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation.”
A study co-authored by Dr. Friehling demonstrated that nearly 70 percent of patients treated with CryoAblation were free from atrial fibrillation at one year. The study led to FDA approval of the CryoAblation procedure in 2010.

	Get the Beat Millions of Americans are estimated to have atrial fibrillation. While some people respond well to drug therapy, others may be candidates for minimally invasive procedures such as CryoAblation. Your physician may recommend the procedure if the medications you take to control atrial fibrillation aren’t effectively controlling your heart rhythm or if your body doesn’t tolerate the medications prescribed. Like any minimally invasive procedure, CryoAblation carries risks and should be considered only after other therapies have been ruled out. Bleeding, infection and pain may occur at the catheter site, and more serious problems include blood clots and narrowing of the veins. Talk to your doctor about the best therapy for you.

	“Our goal is to render patients free of symptomatic atrial fibrillation and off medicines.” — Ted Friehling, MD, Medical Director, Electrophysiology Laboratories