The Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) Heart and Vascular Institute continues to be one of the state and national leaders in cardiac care.
On Monday, February 25, PMC conducted the Commonwealth’s first ablation procedure using the newly FDA-approved TactiCath™ Contact Force Ablation Catheter, Sensor Enabled™, Abbott’s TactiCath SE ablation catheter. This procedure is a major advancement for physicians, helping them to precisely model the heart and improve the lives of people living with complex arrhythmias.
On January 21, 2019, Abbott announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the new ablation catheter for use in the United States. The catheter is designed to help physicians accurately and effectively treat cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation, supraventricular tachycardia, and ventricular tachycardia.
A cardiac arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm that typically develops when disease or injury disrupts the heart’s electrical signals, causing the heart to beat erratically.
AFib can affect how efficiently the heart pumps blood through the body, causing symptoms such as dizziness, shortness of breath or lightheadedness. The condition can also increase a person’s risk of stroke.
An estimated 2.7-6.1 million Americans have AFib, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“We are proud to be the first hospital in Kentucky, and one of the first 25 in the country, to have access to this exciting new technology,” said PMC Electrophysiologist Chase Reynolds, MD. “The fact that Abbott Medical chose PMC as one of the first hospitals to use this new catheter demonstrates the reputation that the electrophysiology program at PMC has established.”
Dr. Reynolds says the new catheter allows him and PMC Electrophysiologist and Director of Cardiology Services, Michael Antimisiaris, MD, to perform ablations with increased efficacy and safety.
To treat these arrhythmias, physicians can use ablation catheters to scar tissue in the heart that is generating abnormal electrical signals and disrupting a patient’s natural heartbeat. As the number of patients receiving cardiac ablation therapy worldwide has grown, Abbott has prioritized ablation technology that adds efficiency and accuracy to ablation procedures. Abbott cardiac ablation technology is currently used to treat patients in more than 84 countries worldwide.
“This is just another way that PMC is making sure that our patients have access to the best medical care available,” said Dr. Reynolds.
Cardiac ablation has become a front-line therapy in the fight against cardiac arrhythmias, most notably AFib. To find out more about this new procedure, cardiac arrhythmias or to make an appointment with Dr. Chase Reynolds or Dr. Michael Antimisiaris call 606-430-2201 or visit the Heart and Vascular Institute page here on this site.
SOURCE: Abbott
