Imaging technique for treating heart condition should be more widely used to minimize radiation exposure
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a condition that affects as many as 6.1 million Americans and is characterized by an irregular, often rapid heart rate caused by a misfiring of electrical impulses. Physicians commonly treat the condition using a minimally invasive procedure called catheter ablation, in which doctors insert thin, flexible wires into veins, snaking them up into the heart. Once there, physicians apply radiofrequency energy or freezing temperatures to eliminate the abnormal electrical pathways, restoring the heart's regular rhythm. To guide this procedure, many cardiologists rely on an imaging technique called fluoroscopy that uses a continuous X-ray beam to visualize the heart. While effective, the technique exposes both the care team and patient to high doses of radiation. "The amount of fluoroscopy received by a patient during a routine AF ablation procedure is estimated to be the equivalent of the dose of radiation a patient would receive with 830 X-rays,...