Dorset Heart Clinic leads the way with new technology for heart operations
The cardiology team at Dorset Heart Clinic is providing private patients a revolutionary new technology, called Farapulse, for atrial fibrillation procedures, cutting operation times for patients by half.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common heart rhythm abnormality seen in the UK affecting over one million people. It can be an extremely disabling condition, commonly causing symptoms such as shortness of breath, tiredness, palpitations and a significant reduction in exercise tolerance.
Previously, cardiologists have treated AF through targeting and abolishing the electrical signals in the heart responsible for triggering the arrhythmia, by burning or freezing them away. The procedure carries a small risk of causing damage to surrounding areas, such as the oesophagus, or important veins leading from the lungs to the heart.
With Boston Scientific’s new Pulsed Field Ablation (Farapulse) technology, non-thermal energy is used to target the same signals, in a tissue specific manner, minimising any external collateral damage.
The procedure now takes around an hour, reducing by half the time it would previously typically take, and UHD is one of just four hospitals in the country currently using the technology, and the first on the south coast.
The procedure is carried out by all of our five consultants in cardiac electrophysiology at Dorset Heart Clinic.
Pictured from left to right: Dr Claridge, Dr Bala, Dr Babu, Dr Sopher and Dr Boullin.