I sat down with James Sweeney and his colleagues Larry Watts, Vice President of Corporate Communications, and Eric Baumann, Program Manager, at this year’s NASPE meeting in May. They spoke of their background in the field and their future interests.

Dr. Perez-Lugones has been at the forefront of research in the area of pulmonary vein isolation. Whether pulmonary vein isolation should be considered in patients with atrial fibrillation complicated by impaired heart function was the focus of a recent study by Dr. Perez-Lugones.

Read more on this special nonprofit organization dedicated to helping those with Long QT Syndrome (LQTS), a disorder of the electrical system of the heart. In particular, the disorder involves the process of repolarization, or the recharging of the electrical system after each heartbeat. In LQTS, the duration of repolarization is longer than normal, and therefore, the QT interval is prolonged. LQTS can be inherited or acquired — SADS deals with both types.

The Georgia Heart Center is the region leader in most comprehensive and advanced techniques for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. In 1977, they were the first to perform open-heart surgery in Central Georgia. In addition, more than 10,000 open-heart surgeries have been performed here, and a total of more than 1,100 performed annually. The Heart Center also has a Heartworks Pathways to Cardiac Fitness program for patients recovering from heart problems or cardiac surgery; the program provides a number of services for patients, including exercise, education, counseling and behavior change interventions.

In this article, the author describes how the use of closed-path cooled ablation has contributed significantly to the successful treatment of atrial flutter in the Electrophysiology Lab at North Ridge Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Through the experience in their lab, they have found that closed-path cooling technology provides the benefits of cooled ablation without the potential complications of hypervolemia and pulmonary embolism.

The authors tell the story of how a unique catheter designed for the treatment of atrial flutter progressed through a clinical trial.