BOSTON, May 14 (UPI) -- Combining two treatments for an irregular heartbeat yields much better patient results than either treatment alone, says a study presented Thursday in Boston.
Using a traditional method of burning tissue surrounding the pulmonary veins along with a newer, automated approach of targeting and burning heart "hot spots" greatly reduced atrial fibrillation, the most common heart-rhythm disturbance, after just one treatment, said electrophysiologist Dr. Atul Verma of Southlake Regional Health Center in Newmarket, Ontario, near Toronto, who designed and spearheaded the study.
Seventy-four percent of patients who received the combination treatments showed no signs of atrial fibrillation after a year, compared with 47 percent who received only traditional burning of the pulmonary vein tissue -- an area shown to transmit electrical signals that trigger atrial fibrillation -- and 29 percent who underwent only "hot spot" therapy, the study found.
The burning treatment, called ablation, burns part of the inside of the heart, creating a scar that blocks abnormal signals. Doctors do this because medications to control the condition are often ineffective.
The study also found that 94 percent of patients who received the combined therapy remained off any anti-arrhythmic medicine at the end of a 12-month follow-up period, the study found.
The study followed 108-patients at four Canadian hospitals and four cardiac centers in Norway, Spain and Italy over a year. The findings were presented at the Heart Rhythm Society's annual Scientific Sessions. ,.
The study compared the two major methods of treating atrial fibrillation patients, whose hearts quiver instead of having a coordinated contraction.
Atrial fibrillation is responsible for 15 to 20 percent of all strokes, the researchers said.
