About the "Mini Maze" Procedure for Atrial Fibrillation

About the "Mini Maze" Procedure for Atrial Fibrillation Video Clips. Duration : 2.12 Mins.

The Shands Minimally Invasive Pulmonary Vein Isolation procedure, also known as the "Mini-Maze," is used to treat atrial fibrillation through three small incisions on each side of the chest. Two of the incisions are about the size of a nickel, and the other incision is slightly larger. Through these "ports," a surgeon can use a bipolar radiofrequency energy source to make precise linear scars on the heart. These ablation lines block the irregular electrical impulses that cause atrial fibrillation. During this procedure, surgeons may also remove or close off the left atrial appendage in order to reduce the risk of stroke. Performed on a beating heart, the mini-maze procedure takes about three to four hours, and the hospital stay averages about four days. With the mini-maze, atrial fibrillation is eliminated in about 80 to 90 percent of patients. Please visit Shands.org for more information or to find a physician.

Keywords: atrial, fibrilation, heart, vascular, health, cardiovascular, mini-maze, hospitals, in, Florida, UF, Surgery, Shands, Care

ACC: New Anticoagulants Signal Start of Post-Warfarin Era

ACC: New Anticoagulants Signal Start of Post-Warfarin Era Tube. Duration : 6.72 Mins.

www.medpagetoday.com ATLANTA -- Atrial fibrillation is both a major stroke risk and a looming public health problem since the risk of afib increases with age, and the standard treatment, warfarin, is often a clinical management challenge. But a number of investigational therapies suggest that a post-warfarin era is beginning. In this MedPage Today InFocus™ report, American College of Cardiology president Ralph Brindis, MD, of the University of California San Francisco, says two new compounds, betrixaban and dabigatran, have "raised the threshold" for anticoagulation therapy.

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