Surgery Corrects Heart Rhythm
Q: How does the Maze treatment for atrial fibrillation work, and what does it involve?
A: The Maze procedure is open heart surgery to eliminate rapid heartbeats. It involves making a series of incisions in the top portion of the heart, the atria. In experienced hands, the procedure is successful in more than 90 percent of patients. A far less invasive option, ablation, utilizes heart catheterization for the same purpose. While its success rates are somewhat lower (60 percent to 75 percent), catheter ablation is often recommended unless the patient is scheduled for surgery to bypass a clogged vessel or correct a valve during which the Maze procedure can also be performed. To find an expert near you, visit hrsonline.org.
Read More:
Heartbeat
Cardiac Test Basics
Please explain the difference between an electrocardiogram and an echocardiogram. What exactly do these tests tell doctors about the heart?
Give the Gift of Life
My brother-in-law just turned 50 and needs a new heart. We sometimes hear that wealthy people get donor organs quicker than others. Is this true? How long is the usual wait for a new heart?
Low-Dose Aspirin for Heart Health
What is the latest information about taking daily baby aspirin to help the heart?
Heart Defect Often Causes No Symptoms
I had a stroke in 2003, and a diagnostic test showed a “hole” in my heart with no right-to-left shunt. The shunt didn’t show up on a different kind of test in 2009, either.
I came through the stroke fine because I went to the hospital right away and have been on warfarin ever since. My question is: If there’s no shunt, is the hole present?
^ ADVERTISEMENT ^
One Comment ( Post a Comment )
Recently I attended a presentation by Dr Saquib Masroor, MD,MHS,FACC. he practices at Froedtert Hospital In Milwaukee, Wi.. He discussed a variation of the MAZE Procedure using a minimally invasive heart proceedure using cyrogenic device. It is open heart surgery, but he believes it is very sucessful. What would be the criterion for a patient to consider this as an option to avoid the side effects of medication and living with the negative impact of A-fib vs trading off the risk of this type of surgery.