Atrial fibrillation affects more than 2 million Americans. It’s a serious heart condition that can lead to stroke or even heart failure.
Jacquie Crawford used to have trouble carrying her groceries up the stairs. “I just started feeling extremely fatigued,” she says. Crawford suffered from atrial fibrillation, a condition that made it difficult for her to enjoy some of her favorite hobbies, like dog sledding and walking her dogs. “I couldn’t walk to the end of my block. My energy was just depleted.”
Atrial fibrillation is a condition that occurs when the two upper chambers of the heart quiver instead of beating normally. Now, Ralph Damiano, Jr., M.D., a cardiologist at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., is offering patients a new maze procedure to fix the problem.
“It’s called a Maze because in a way, it channels all the electrical activity around all the atria, but it makes it follow a little maze,” Dr. Damiano says.
The Cox Maze uses radio-frequency instead of a scalpel. Using a high-energy clamp, surgeons zap areas of the heart to create scar tissue that blocks disruptive signals, giving patients a normal heart rhythm.
“The operation now takes about 30 minutes where it used to take over 90 minutes with the heart stopped,” Dr. Damiano says. In earlier versions of the technology, scars were made by cutting and sewing the heart tissue, which was complex and more risky.
“I feel just like a regular person,” Crawford says.
The procedure has a 90 percent cure rate — allowing patients like Crawford to live healthier, happier lives. The Cox Maze procedure is recommended for patients who don’t respond to medicine or other treatments.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Judy Martin
Associate Director of Media Relations
Washington University
School of Medicine
(314) 286-0105
martinju@wustl.edu