Intermountain Press Release

Murray, UT —Approximately one in four Americans at some point in their lives will suffer from atrial fibrillation, an electrical 'short-circuit' that leads to a rapid, irregular heartbeat. The condition leads to about a quarter of all strokes in the United States and can cause heart failure. Treatment is effective, but not without risks.

Now, cardiac researchers studying atrial fibrillation at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray have made two discoveries that will lead to better and safer treatment for countless patients.

Discovery one: Simple aspirin therapy works better than potent blood thinners. Most patients who have atrial fibrillation are treated with "ablation" therapy, whereby a physician inserts a catheter via a vein, directs it to the heart, identifies the areas causing the electrical misfire, and carefully "zaps" those cells to stop the problem. After treatment, patients take the potent blood-thinning drug warfarin, commonly known as Coumadin, to lessen the chances of blood clots and stroke. But warfarin can also increase the chances of life-threatening bleeding, and requires patients to follow a special diet.

The Intermountain Medical Center research team found that prescribing aspirin, a mild blood thinner, is enough to reduce the risk of stroke for low-risk patients.

"This is the first study to ever find that warfarin is not always necessary following an ablation procedure," says John D. Day, MD, a cardiologist specializing in atrial fibrillation at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, who is the study's principal investigator. "This treatment prevents stroke, but also avoids any potential bleeding problems. That's the goal. This represents a big improvement in safety and convenience for millions of people who otherwise would take warfarin."

Discovery two: Safer "zapping." The Intermountain Medical Center cardiologists will also report on the success of a new catheter technique that they've pioneered to reduce collateral damage from unexpected burning. Previously, a cardiologist would burn problem cells at a low temperature for a long time, then skip to the next area and repeat. But sometimes this treatment would damage nearby tissue, such as the esophagus or the lung, and it also left untreated gaps in the affected area.

Dr. Day and his team discovered that if they burned with higher heat for shorter periods, while also moving the catheter in a continuous path, they could not only avoid unintentional burning, they also had better luck in treating atrial fibrillation.

"This is a paradigm shift. It's huge," says Dr. Day. "This will make a significant improvement in care for patients."

Dr. Day will present his team's results in using the new technique, as well as their findings on aspirin therapy, Wednesday through Friday at the Heart Rhythm Society of America's annual scientific sessions in San Francisco.

As a result of these discoveries, cardiologists are coming from all over the world to learn the technique at Intermountain Medical Center, which does more of the procedures than almost any other center in the nation, Dr. Day says.

"Very few centers offer this kind of treatment. There's no cutting, no stitches. We can do this as an outpatient procedure," he says.