Cardiac arrhythmias

New treatment for atrial fibrillation

Prim. Martinek during an ablation with the Affera system.(Bild: Ordensklinikum Linz )

The Ordensklinikum Linz Elisabethinen is one of the first centers worldwide and the first center in Austria to use a new method for the treatment of complex arrhythmias. When and how it is used.

A third of all people experience a relevant heart rhythm problem at some point in their lives - most frequently due to atrial fibrillation, which is also responsible for strokes. It is treated with medication or with "catheter ablation". Catheter ablations are interventions on the heart muscle tissue that are used to obliterate affected areas and treat arrhythmias. Heat (radiofrequency ablation), cold (cryoablation) and electrical high-voltage pulses (pulsed field ablation) are used.

Linz is "one step ahead" in Austria
The Ordensklinikum Linz Elisabethinen is one of the first centers worldwide and the first center in Austria to use a new method for treating complex arrhythmias: With the innovative "Affera" system, both high-frequency and pulsed field ablations can now be performed with one device, combined with a "navigation system".

"This allows cardiologists to choose the appropriate ablation procedure during the procedure. High-voltage pulses are more suitable for sensitive, thin areas in the heart or on the posterior wall, for example, due to the possibility of damaging the oesophageal wall or the phrenic nerve," explains Prim. Doz. Dr. Martin Martinek, PhD, MBA, Head of the Department of Internal Medicine 2.

Special sensors also create a three-dimensional model in which the areas where irregularities occur are displayed. One catheter is now sufficient for diagnosis and treatment, whereas previously several had to be used.

"We use the system primarily for 'difficult' cases, for example for patients who have already undergone several interventions or have had rhythm disturbances for a very long time or suffer from life-threatening arrhythmias," says Prim. Martinek.