Oklahoma Heart cardiac electrophysiologist Dr. David Sandler talks about how different the treatment can vary for AFib patients and why individualization is key to successful outcomes.
Patients are often surprised that the recommendations we make differ from those offered to a friend with atrial fibrillation (AFib). The explanation is that there are numerous treatment options that are best tailored to an individual patient. The factors that go into these decisions (for example: age, weight, symptoms, frequency/duration of atrial fibrillation) can dramatically affect the success and complication rates of our various therapies.
For example, we have treated siblings for AFib in their mid-60s. When we finally began treatment for the last of the siblings, I marveled at how differently each was treated – and how well each did with the treatment plan we chose.
The recently released AFNet/European Heart Rhythm Task Force expands on our understanding of individualizing AFib care by classifying types of AFib, imaging the brain and heart and blood testing to help guide therapy.
At Oklahoma Heart Institute, we have been preaching the importance of personalized patient care and are proud to offer every tool available for the treatment of AFib – expertise in medical therapy, catheter ablation (radiofrequency and cryoballoon), surgical maze, and left atrial appendage ligation. We are excited that our philosophy continues to be echoed by the large arrhythmia society guidelines.