Laniado Hospital has performed the first treatments in Israel using a new technology for atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation is a condition where the electrical rhythm in the heart works in an abnormal way. It is one of the most common heart rhythm problems. The heartbeat becomes irregular and is often faster than normal. Some people feel their heart racing or fluttering. Others feel tired, short of breath or dizzy. Some people have no symptoms at all, and the condition is found during a routine check. If it is not treated, atrial fibrillation can increase the risk of blood clots and stroke, so finding and treating it matters.

Treatment depends on the patient. Medicines can control the heart rate and rhythm and lower the risk of stroke. Some patients benefit from a procedure called ablation, which treats the small areas of heart tissue that cause the faulty electrical signals. Until now, ablation has mainly used heat or extreme cold to treat this tissue.

The new technology combines an angioplasty balloon with PFA (pulsed field ablation) energy to treat the disordered cells. Pulsed field ablation works in a different way from heat or cold. It uses short electrical pulses that act only on the heart cells that need treatment, while sparing nearby healthy tissue. A dedicated mapping system is used to check whether the treatment was successful.

The new treatment offers a number of key benefits:
The operation is about twenty percent shorter.
No general anaesthesia is required.
It has a very high success rate, with only five percent of patients needing re-treatment.

The first two treatments were performed with great success in complex patients.

Thanks to Professor Moshe Swissa and to the entire staff of the Electrophysiology Unit.

This treatment reflects Laniado Hospital's founding commitment to relieving suffering through highly trained and compassionate medical care, and to bringing the most advanced treatments to its patients.