A St.
Bernards physician who specializes in treating heart rhythm problems, has
become the first electrophysiologist in Arkansas to use new technology approved
by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to restore normal heartbeat for a
specific kind of heart condition. And in the process, Dr. Devi Nair has given
one Jonesboro patient her life back.
Betty Smith
has been suffering from a condition known as atrial fibrillation for a number
of years. She … like most patients with atrial fib … was treated with medication
to control symptoms that included a very fast and abnormal heartbeat. She
describes the episodes as times when her heart was “racing,” pounding so fast
that it felt as if it would burst.
Over time,
her symptoms grew worse, and episodes grew more frequent. It became a
life-changing problem, with Smith hesitating to get far from home. Even with
adjustments to her medications, she could not lead what most would consider a
normal life. She always was worried about her heart problems, and because she knew
that a fib placed her at a higher risk for stroke, she lived under a constant
cloud concern. There is a history of strokes in her family, and she has seen
first hand how devastating they can be.
The normal
heart rate for an adult is between 60 and 100 beats per minute, explains Nair,
an electrophysiologist at Cardiology Associates who is on the medical staff at
St. Bernards. But what happens to people with atrial fibrillation is the atria
– the top chambers of the heart – beat erratically up to 300 times a minute,
keeping the upper and lower chambers of the heart from working together as they
should.
Nair says
that the atrial fibrillation itself is not dangerous, but if the condition is
left untreated, side effects can be life threatening. “When the atria are
fibrillating, the blood flow to the lower chambers of the heart – the
ventricles – is slowed, and that increases the risk of developing blood clots.
If a clot were to break loose, it could result in a stroke or heart attack.
“Another
side effect of a fib is that it can cause the ventricles to beat too fast and
over time, weaken the heart muscle, leading to heart failure,” Nair continues.
There are
treatments that can eliminate symptoms and correct the heart rhythm, Nair says,
adding that such treatments involve destroying heart tissue responsible for
creating abnormal electrical signals that make the upper chambers of the heart
quiver or beat rapidly. One of the two primary techniques uses heat (radio
frequency ablation), while the other uses cold (cryoablation). Both can be done
as catheter-based procedures in the region’s only electrophysiology (EP) lab at
St. Bernards.
“Mrs. Smith
was a very good candidate for a treatment that enabled us to use new
catheter-based technology recently approved by the FDA and owned by Medtronic,”
Nair said. “It is called cryoballoon ablation for atrial fibrillation.”
Typically,
the source of electrical signals that cause the irregular heartbeat in atrial
fibrillation is in the area of pulmonary veins.
The new
technology Nair used to treat Smith is called Arctic Front Cryoballoon
ablation, and it uses a catheter device with an inflatable balloon. The
catheter is inserted into a blood vessel in the leg and maneuvered by the
physician into the left atrium of the heart. When in place, the balloon is
inflated, sealing off the opening of the pulmonary area, and a refrigerant is
delivered to the tissue all the way around the opening, thus freezing it and
disabling the unwanted signals.
The procedure has dramatically improved the
life for Smith, she says. And both the patient and physician are pleased with
results. Nair expects to be able to eliminate the medication Smith has been on
to help regulate her heart rhythm completely over the period of 3-6 months.
Though it can take a matter of months to determine how successful the treatment
is for any patient, Smith already is enjoying the freedom that improvements
have made in terms of lifestyle. And she
looks forward to being able to travel soon to visit her daughter who lives out
of state.
Atrial
fibrillation is a form of irregular heartbeat that affects about 3 million
Americans, and it is the most common heart rhythm problem.
Presently
St. Bernards is the only hospital in Arkansas at which this new technology is
being used. The cryoballoon ablation is the newest of several tools St.
Bernards electrophysiologists have for improving the lives of patients with
atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation ablation
is only one of the procedures used by St. Bernards electrophysiologists to
treat heart patients from Northeast Arkansas and Southeast Missouri right here
so they don’t have to leave home to receive world class care. As a matter of
fact, patients can get every procedure in cardiac electrophysiology performed
anywhere in the rest of the country right here at St. Bernards.
Because St.
Bernards recently constructed a dedicated Electrophysiology (EP) Lab in its
Heartcare Center, the two electrophysiologists on staff at St. Bernards – Dr.
Devi Nair and Dr. Roosevelt Gilliam – now have the most sophisticated tools at
their disposal to treat a wide range of heart rhythm problems.
In addition to the recent completion of the new EP Lab, St. Bernards
has upgraded its two Cardiac Catheterization Labs, raising the bar for
heartcare in the region and building on a heart program, which has grown
steadily since its inception three decades ago.
Dr. Nair
completed her medical school in University of Kerala in India. She earned her
M.D. degree from Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in
New York City at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center. She completed
fellowships in cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology at Case Western Reserve
University at MetroHealth Campus in Cleveland, Ohio, and is board certified in
cardiac electrophysiology, cardiovascular disease and internal medicine. She
has been on the medical staff at St. Bernards for approximately a year.
St. Bernards offers the most comprehensive heartcare services of any
facility in the region. It is the only medical center with electrophysiologists
on staff, and it is the only facility with a dedicated EP lab. It is the only medical center in the
state offering the Artic Front Cryoballoon ablation catheter technology for
atrial fibrillation. St. Bernards also is the only medical center in the region
designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care by Blue Cross Blue
Shield.