A Sunshine Coast-first procedure to treat patients suffering from atrial fibrillation, a common disorder of the heart, is now being offered at The Sunshine Coast Private Hospital at Buderim. The hospital is the only centre north of Brisbane to offer the procedure.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) affects more than 200,000 Australians. The condition can cause a fluttering heartbeat and prevent the heart from pumping blood around the body as efficiently as it should. This in turn increases a person’s risk of developing symptoms, such as lightheadedness, shortness of breath and chest discomfort. There is an increased risk of stroke associated with atrial fibrillation.
The procedure, called cardiac cryoablation, works by freezing and destroying cells at the entrance to the pulmonary veins causing atrial fibrillation – once the disruptive tissue is frozen it can no longer interfere with the heart’s normal rhythm.
Dr Alana Harris, Cardiologist at the hospital and pioneer of the procedure on the Sunshine Coast, said cryoablation offers an alternative treatment to medication for some patients.
“I regularly see patients, some quite young and in the prime of their lives, who suffer from AF and other treatments have either been ineffective or poorly tolerated – their atrial fibrillation has a significant impact on their quality of life,” Dr Harris said.
“I am happy to be able to offer this procedure to our community and give people the choice of having their AF effectively treated right here on the Sunshine Coast,” she said.
“People living with this condition can be treated and by intervening early, we can save people from developing debilitating side effects in the future.”
"Cryoablation’s freezing technique is proven to be very effective in treating AF but also has other advantages such as being safer and quite painless compared to alternative treatments.”
Previously, patients travelled to Brisbane seeking therapy or were managed using medication, with half of all diagnosed patients failing drug therapy.
Wallis Westbrook, the hospital’s General Manager, said being able to offer the Sunshine Coast community an alternative treatment for their AF is a huge step forward.
“We know the incidence of AF in the general population is around 2 per cent – if you do your maths it means around 7000 locals suffer from AF – by offering this procedure right here on the Coast, people don’t need to travel away from their friends and loved ones to receive the treatment they need,” Mr Westbrook said.
“The hospital is extremely proud to be able to offer this breakthrough new service and continue its commitment to providing quality and trusted healthcare services to the region,” he said.
The hospital provides diagnostic and interventional cardiac services in two dedicated Cardiovascular Theatres, a Critical Care service (which is supported by highly qualified specialist cardiologists and electrophysiologists), an intensivist service, a 24-hour Resident Medical Officer service and specially-trained nursing staff.
The Sunshine Coast Private Hospital also has all the necessary diagnostic imagery technology onsite, including ultrasound, X-rays, CT scans and magnetic resonance imagery.
A part of UnitingCare Health, The Sunshine Coast Private Hospital, a not-for-profit private healthcare facility has been providing services to the Sunshine Coast community for over 35 years.
MORE INFORMATION
About Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation, known as AF, is an irregular and often very fast heart rate. AF occurs when the upper chambers of the heart fibrillate. This means that they beat very rapidly and irregularly. Blood is not pumped efficiently to the rest of the body which may cause heart palpitations, fatigue, and shortness of breath. The causes of AF are often unclear. People with otherwise normal hearts may also develop atrial fibrillation.
Atrial fibrillation is the most common and one of the most undertreated heart rhythm disorders, affecting more than seven million people worldwide. It is estimated that half of all diagnosed atrial fibrillation patients fail drug therapy, and if left untreated, patients have up to a five times higher risk of stroke and an increased chance of developing heart failure.
About the technology
The goal of AF catheter ablation is to prevent unwanted electrical currents from traveling from the pulmonary veins (large blood vessels that carry blood from the lungs to the left atrium of the heart) to the atria (the upper chambers of the heart). The standard ablation technique for accomplishing this goal is called pulmonary vein isolation. During the procedure, catheters are used to terminate (ablate) these abnormal electrical currents and stop them from spreading and continuing to cause AF.
Medtronic’s cryoballoon treatment involves a minimally invasive procedure that isolates the pulmonary vein, a source of erratic electrical signals that cause AF, using coolant rather than heat (RF ablation). Delivered via a catheter, cryoballoon technology is associated with faster procedure times versus point-by-point, RF ablation. Arctic Front Advance™, Medtronic’s next generation cryoablation catheter features the new EvenCool™ Cryo Technology, which optimises the delivery of coolant inside the balloon. This freezes and destroys the cells at the entrance to the pulmonary veins. Once the disruptive tissue is frozen, it can no longer interfere with the heart’s normal rhythm.