ATLANTA – Atrial fibrillation is a condition that can make your heart race and put you at risk for stroke.
But for some patients, medication can't control atrial fibrillation.
During a routine EKG, Malon Wickham got a big surprise.
"My upper chamber was beating like 220 beats per minute," he said.
Medication can control most cases of atrial fibrillation, but Wickham was suffering from persistent atrial fibrillation, meaning he was at high risk for stroke.
"Ablation is an intervention designed to markedly decrease the chance of having recurring atrial fibrillation," said Dr. David DeLurgio, professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and director of electrophysiology at Emory St. Joseph's Hospital.
Surgeons either burn or freeze specific areas of the heart that are causing atrial fibrillation.
Now, two surgeons at Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital are teaming up to improve outcomes for patients through an operation called the convergent procedure.
First, the cardiothoracic surgeon makes a small incision in the abdomen to gain access to the back of the heart. Then, the electrophysiologist enters the inside of the heart to ablate the abnormal signals.
"They check the work that I've done using their mapping systems," said Dr. Michael Halkos, chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Emory Healthcare.
The combined approach is proving to be successful.
"We're finding that at least 90 percent of the patients have near-complete or complete eradication of their arrhythmias," DeLurgio said.
Patients stay in the hospital for 48 hours after the surgery and recover at home for at least a week.
Risks include injury to the esophagus due to the heat of ablation, but doctors take precautions to avoid that risk.
The converge IDE clinical trial is a nationwide study still enrolling patients.
For more information, please visit clinicaltrials.emory.edu or stopafib.org.