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cuTTing-edge care Sperling, who joined Denver's HealthONE from New Jersey, brought a groundbreaking technique with him, becoming the first to perform this new procedure in the Rocky Mountain region this fall. Called hybrid ablation, the advanced procedure uses a specialized interdisciplinary team, including cardiac surgeons and electrophysiologists, to treat persistent A Fib patients who have either failed other treatments or who have no other realistic options. With A Fib, abnormal electrical signals emanating from the pulmonary vein regions cause a rapid and irregular heartbeat. "It decreases the heart's efficiency and is a major risk factor for stroke," Sperling says. A Fib can also lead to blood clots, heart failure and other complications. Medications to slow the heart, decrease blood pressure and thin the blood are a first-line of defense. If that fails, a catheter-ablation procedure, such as Phillips', can interrupt the abnormal electrical signals, with electrophysiologists "spot- welding" or freezing trigger points in and around the pulmonary veins. But if A Fib is left to progress, the affected heart chamber can enlarge along with the pulmonary veins, making it more difficult to ablate those problem areas and creating a different type of A Fib, Sperling says. "Eventually, eccentric scarring in the back wall of the atrium seems to create a hyper-conductive electrical circuit that sustains the A Fib even if the veins themselves can be treated," he says. With hybrid ablation, surgeons use a video-approach to the heart through a very small incision in the abdomen. "A specialized device that ablates the entire back wall of the left atrium, hopefully irreversibly rendering it incapable of conducting electricity, is used," Sperling says. "Then the electrophysiologist treats (or re-treats) the veins or other problem areas." The success rate has been about 85 percent, which Sperling calls "unheard-of for this population." While recurrence is always a possibility with any A Fib treatment, hybrid ablation, with patients up to three years out, has proved lasting, Sperling says. "These folks typically have very poor quality of life: exercise intolerance, fatigue, shortness of breath, emotional issues, to name just a few. Our patients were very grateful to have found our program," Sperling says. Phillips understands, having suffered all of those life-altering side effects. He hopes the new program will help others find help sooner. "It was really depressing. I thought I was going to die," says Phillips, who has decided to refocus and enjoy his forced early retirement. "But now, I have a new outlook on life." did you knoW? Because of a higher risk of stroke with atrial fibrillation, certain patients should take potent blood thinners. But for those who cannot, rose Medical center now offers a groundbreaking procedure called the LariaT™. using minimally-invasive techniques, a team of doctors uses the LariaT™ suture delivery device to close off a region of the heart known to cause blood clots and reduce the risk of stroke. "These folks typically have very poor quality of life: exercise intolerance, fatigue, shortness of breath, emotional issues, to name just a few. Our patients were very grateful to have found our program." Dr. Jason Sperling uses a model of the heart to explain conditions his new program is targeting. a FiB PreVenTion TiPs adopt healthy habits, such as: • Managing high blood pressure • avoiding excessive amounts of alcohol & caffeine • not smoking • Maintaining a healthy weight be proactive about related conditions: Source: American Heart Association • chronic lung disease • other heart conditions • sleep apnea • Thyroid disease • diabetes 32 • Medical Profile