BOCA RATON, FL – August 1, 2017 – Boca Raton Regional Hospital is the first in Florida and one of only five
centers nationally to non-invasively map irregular heartbeats in patients
with chronic atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias who have not responded
adequately to medication or prior ablation procedures. Atrial fibrillation
(AFib) is a quivering or irregular heartbeat that can lead to blood clots,
stroke, heart failure or other heart-related complications. A total of
2.7 to 6.1 million Americans are living with the condition.
The Medtronic CardioInsight™ Noninvasive 3D Mapping System, introduced
at Boca Regional by Murray Rosenbaum, MD, Director of Electrophysiology
at the Hospital’s Christine E. Lynn Heart & Vascular Institute
and was first used in February of this year on an 84-year-old patient.
The system uses a 252-electrode sensor vest that is worn by the patient
to match body surface electrical data with heart anatomy. The non-invasive
technology creates 3D electro-anatomic maps of the heart by collecting
electrocardiogram (ECG) signals from the chest, and combining these signals
with data from a computed tomography (CT) scan of the heart. The vest
technology contours to the patient’s body and allows for continuous
and simultaneous panoramic mapping of both atria or both ventricles non-invasively
prior to the procedure. The 3D maps can be created by capturing a single
heartbeat and enable rapid mapping of these heart rhythms.
“This non-invasive mapping system has streamlined the clinical planning
process for specialists like myself and has made it easy for patients
to receive exquisite mapping results right at the bedside,” said
Dr. Rosenbaum. “The technology allows mapping of certain arrhythmias
with high accuracy prior to entering the cath lab so that the entire procedure
can be planned before touching the patient.”
The most important role, Dr. Rosenbaum emphasized, is the fact that this
technology offers a chance to rid atrial fibrillation when no other treatment
is effective. This includes cases where initial ablation has failed, or
in cases of persistent or chronic atrial fibrillation.
CardioInsight has the ability to locate with great precision what are
called cardiac rotors. These points in the heart’s electrical system
are analogous to the eye of a hurricane; around which electrical activity
called initiating spirals rotate causing the arrhythmia. Using this new
mapping technology, the electrophysiologist can position an ablation catheter
on the rotor centers. In some cases a single ablation can terminate the
atrial fibrillation and restore the heart to normal rhythm. With conventional
treatment, hours of ablation over a large area of the heart are needed,
and results
worldwide have been disappointing.
“The advantages of this new technology are material,” noted
Dr. Rosenbaum. “It is a major paradigm shift in how we manage patients
with chronic AFib and allows us to be more efficient and achieve better
outcomes.”
The Medtronic CardioInsight Noninvasive 3D Mapping System at Boca Regional
was made possible through a generous philanthropic gift by Ronald H. and
Joanne Willens.
About Boca Raton Regional Hospital - Advancing the boundaries of medicine.
Boca Raton Regional Hospital is an advanced, tertiary medical center (BRRH.com)
with 400 beds and more than 800 primary and specialty physicians on staff.
The Hospital is a recognized leader in oncology, cardiovascular disease
and surgery, minimally invasive surgery, orthopedics, women’s health,
emergency medicine and the neurosciences, all of which offer state-of-the-art
diagnostic and imaging capabilities. The Hospital is a designated Comprehensive
Stroke Center by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA).
Media Contact:
Alexandra Schilling, 561.955.4706
Communications Specialist
aschilling@brrh.com