Two AUB doctors performed the first operation in Lebanon and the region for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, a common condition that causes irregular heart rhythm and may lead to stroke and heart failure.
Atrial fibrillation afflicts six percent of people over 60 years old.
Drs. Oussama Wazni and Maurice Khoury from the Electrophysiology section and the Division of Cardiology in the Department of Internal Meidcine at the American University of Beirut Medical Center performed the first Pulmonary Vein Isolation (PVI) procedure for the treatment of atrial fibrillation in the region.
During the PVI, doctors insert catheters (long, flexible tubes) into the veins of the leg and guide the catheters into the left atrium under Intracardiac Echo guidance.
Radiofrequency Energy is delivered through the tip of the catheter to tissue that is targeted for ablation. This is performed with 3-D Mapping Guidance. The procedure lasts about 3-6 hours.
A single procedure is completely curative in 80-85 percent of patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation that is not associated with any other heart disease.
Dr. Wazni recently joined AUBMC. He was formerly the director of the Electrophysicology Lab at Cleveland Clinic.
The Electrophysiology Section at AUBMC was established by Dr. Khoury in 1996 and has been the leader in implementing new device therapies for the treatment of patients with heart failure and heart rhythm disease.
