Tufts Medical Center Offers Unique Procedure To Combat Abnormal Heart Rhythm

BOSTON (CBS) — More than six million Americans have an abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation. For some people, traditional treatments just don’t work but doctors at a local medical center are using a new procedure to get those patients back in normal rhythm. As the owner of an office cleaning service, 65-year old Pat DeGregorio walks about 10 miles a day, but three years ago, the Winthrop native woke up and could barely move. “I couldn’t breathe,” he said. “I was just gasping for air.” Pat was in an abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation or AFib where pacemaker cells in the heart go haywire, causing the heart to beat at a rapid rate. This often causes palpitations, chest discomfort, shortness of breath and puts patients at greater risk for stroke. Pat DeGregorio was treated for an abnormal heart rhythm (WBZ-TV) Pat was treated with powerful drugs and shocked multiple times to try to get his heart back into a normal rhythm, but nothing worked. The next option was ablation, a procedure used to destroy the abnormally firing cells from within the heart. But for patients like Pat, that would risk damaging his esophagus, which could be catastrophic. Pat was referred to Dr. Munther Homoud, a cardiologist specializing in arrhythmias as Tufts Medical Center, who recommended a novel approach. “I made the decision then that he would be best be served, if he was looking for one procedure, to get this thing under control, it would be the Co...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Boston News Health Healthwatch Seen On WBZ-TV Syndicated CBSN Boston Syndicated Local Atrial Fibrillation Dr. Mallika Marshall Tufts Medical Center Source Type: news