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Arrhythmias

The rhythmic beating of the heart results from the transmission of electrical impulses through the heart. When these electrical impulses are mistimed or uncoordinated, the heart fails to function properly, resulting in complications that can range from fatigue to stroke or death. Over five million people in the U.S. currently suffer from the resulting abnormal heart rhythms, which are known as arrhythmias (click here for classifications chart).

Drug therapies for arrhythmias often fail to adequately control the arrhythmia and may have significant side effects. Consequently, physicians have increasingly sought more permanent, non- pharmacological, solutions for arrhythmias.

The most common interventional treatment for arrhythmias, and in particular tachyarrhythmias, where the patient's heart rate is too high or irregular, is an ablation procedure in which the diseased tissue giving rise to the arrhythmia is disabled. Prior to performing an electrophysiology ablation, a physician typically performs a diagnostic procedure in which the electrical signal patterns of the heart wall are "mapped" to identify the heart tissue generating the aberrant electrical signals. Following the mapping procedure, the physician may then use an ablation catheter to disable the aberrant signal or signal path, restoring the heart to its normal rhythm.

Unfortunately, many patients suffering from complex arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation, have had difficulty obtaining interventional treatment. Because manual approaches to treatment of this condition are complex, time consuming, and have inconsistent outcomes, only a limited number of hospitals and their electrophysiologists are willing to perform these procedures on a routine basis.

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The Stereotaxis Magnetic Navigation System is particularly well suited for the diagnosis and treatment of both common and complex arrhythmias, as successful treatment requires precise catheter positioning, often in hard to reach regions of the heart, which can be more consistently achieved using computerized, magnetic navigation.

These procedures include:

• General Mapping and Ablation. For routine mapping and ablation procedures used to treat common arrhythmias like supraventricular tachycardias (SVT’s), our system offers the unique benefit of precise GentleTouch™ catheter movement and consistent heart wall contact, providing the opportunity to reduce procedure times and improve outcomes.

• Complex Arrhythmias: Atrial Fibrillation* and Others. For those patients with complex arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia, many potential patients cannot benefit from manual catheter-based procedures because they are extremely complex and are performed by only the most highly skilled electrophysiologists. They also typically have much longer procedure times than conventional ablation cases and lower success rates because of the extreme difficulty of positioning the catheter in hard-to-reach areas of the heart chambers. The Stereotaxis Magnetic Navigation System is designed to address these navigational challenges by providing precise magnetic guidance and positioning for GentleTouch™ catheters throughout the heart, making it possible to deliver therapy for these complex arrhythmias.

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Traditional techniques are challenging for physicians because they require very precise manual orientation of a relatively stiff catheter within potentially complex heart chamber anatomy. The goal of Stereotaxis' GentleTouch™ technology is to contact the wall of the heart in an optimal way. Softer, more flexible catheters may reduce the chance of distorting or damaging the heart wall. By combining the benefits of precise, computer-aided magnetic guidance with gentle catheter contact, Stereotaxis believes that it has the potential to enable softer, safer interventional procedures with better outcomes and shorter patient recovery times.

The Stereotaxis Magnetic Navigation System enables very precise, computerized control of the working end of the catheter combined with comprehensive integration of diagnostic imaging information. The objective is to provide:

• Improved safety and outcomes for patients being treated for both common and complex arrhythmias
• Least invasive treatment of complex arrhythmias with shorther procedures, brief hospital stays and faster recovery times
• Increased likelihood that patients with highly complex arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation, can find interventional treatment and be successfully cured.
  

For more detailed information, consult your physician or click on the related links.

* Caution: Use of an ablation catheter to treat atrial fibrillation is investigational in the United States.

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