How the most common cardiac arrhythmia in cardiology can be treated permanently
The cardiac arrhythmia atrial fibrillation can be treated permanently at the Diakonie Klinikum Siegen.
Atrial fibrillation is the most common rapid cardiac arrhythmia – in Germany up to two million people are affected. Instead of a normal heart rhythm, there is a kind of thunderstorm in the atria, which results in an irregular and often too fast heartbeat. The place of origin of this arrhythmia lies in certain cells of the pulmonary veins that empty into the left atrium.
Continued atrial fibrillation despite medication – therapy options in cardiology
Despite various medications, some patients cannot be freed from symptoms and suffer from palpitations, shortness of breath and a feeling of tightness in the chest or are not very resilient. Or they feel the side effects of the drugs that impair their quality of life. Atrial fibrillation ablation is an option for these patients. The starting points of the electrical interference fields, the openings of the pulmonary veins into the atrium, are sclerosed and thus switched off. This obliteration of the pulmonary veins, also called pulmonary veins, is referred to as pulmonary vein isolation or PVI for short. It is a minimally invasive procedure that is regularly performed in the cardiology department of the Diakonie-Klinikum Jung-Stilling in Siegen. The Diakonie Klinikum Jung Stilling in Siegen is one of the few certified atrial fibrillation centers in Germany.
Procedure for atrial fibrillation ablation in Siegen Cardiology
The procedure lasts – depending on the severity of the atrial fibrillation and depending on the technique used, between one and three hours. General anesthesia is not necessary for this, the patient is put into a kind of twilight sleep. Then the doctor goes through the groin vein to the heart with a thin plastic tube and ends up in the right atrium. With a fine needle, the tube is passed through the dividing wall between the two atria into the left atrium. The anatomical conditions of the left atrium can be shown precisely by administration of a contrast medium. The openings of the pulmonary veins are sought. Using an energy source, the cardiologists destroy the diseased tissue with either heat or cold. “In patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, the success rate of this procedure is around 70 to 80 percent. The earlier an atrial fibrillation ablation is used, the higher the chances of a permanent cure,” states Priv.-Doz. dr Damir Erkapic, chief physician for cardiology and rhythmology at the Diakonie Klinikum Jung Stilling in Siegen.
The Medical Clinic II of the Diakonie Klinikum Jung-Stilling in Siegen consists of the sections of cardiology, angiology and rhythmology.
The department is headed by the two chief physicians Prof. Dr. Dursun Gündüz and PD Dr. Damir Erkapic. The main task is the competent outpatient and inpatient care of patients with the entire spectrum of heart and vascular diseases.
company contact
Cardiology Clinic Jung-Stilling
dr. Damir Erkapic
Wichernstrasse 40
57074 wins
0271 333 4740
Press contact
Cardiology Clinic Jung-Stilling
dr. Damir Erkapic
Wichernstrasse 40
57074 wins
0271 333 4740