AFibSurgeons.org Launches as New Collaborative Platform to Address Undertreatment of Concomitant Surgical Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation
TORRANCE, Calif., June 13, 2019 -- Clinical Cardiac, Inc., a leading provider of web development services for cardiac applications, announced today the launch of AFibSurgeons.org, a new interactive and collaborative platform for physician education specific to the undertreatment of concomitant surgical therapy for atrial fibrillation (AFib). AFibSurgeons.org is sponsored by AtriCure, Inc., a leading provider of innovative technologies for the treatment of AFib and related conditions.
“In spite of recommendations by cardiology and cardiac surgery societies, atrial fibrillation goes untreated or undertreated in a vast majority of open-heart surgery cases,” said Adam Pick, Chief Executive Officer of Clinical Cardiac. “As the medical and economic burden of atrial fibrillation is projected to grow 300% in the next 10 years, we are compelled to help surgeons address this issue through educational and training initiatives. AFibSurgeons.org is a novel educational platform that empowers surgeons to learn about the clinical benefits and surgical approaches to AFib during cardiac surgery.”
AFib is an abnormal heart beat that impacts millions of people in the United States, according to the American Heart Association. Patients with AFib struggle with symptoms including heart palpitations, chest pain, dizziness and shortness of breath. According to the National Institutes of Health, two complications associated with AFib are stroke and heart failure. Patients with atrial fibrillation are five times more likely to suffer a stroke and five times more likely to develop heart failure, according to the American Heart Association.
“The concomitant surgical treatment of AFib is now the standard of care thanks to new radiofrequency and cryoablation technologies that reduce surgical ablation procedure time to twenty minutes, ” said Dr. Vaughn A. Starnes, the current President of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery and the Chair of the Department of Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California. “When a patient has AFib and goes into the operating room - either for mitral disease, aortic disease or coronary artery disease - a concomitant surgical ablation should be performed.”
Dr. Vaughn Starnes, 2019-2020 President of the American Association
for Thoracic Surgery and the Chair of the Department of Surgery at
the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
Surgical ablation is a procedure where a surgical device is used to create a series of lesions on the heart to interrupt the electrical activity that sustains AFib. The Cox-Maze IV procedure is done by a cardiothoracic surgeon and is considered the gold standard for treating atrial fibrillation. In the Ablate AF Trial, 84% of patients were free of AFib symptoms at 6 months. Many patients are able to stop taking medications (e.g. blood thinners) after a successful surgical ablation.
“As the Baby Boomers age, atrial fibrillation will transition from a disease to a world-wide epidemic,” stated Pick. “Clinicians need new communication paths to collaborate and to share best practices for AFib treatment. The idea to develop AFibSurgeons.org, as a collaborative platform for physician education, was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help clinicians enhance the lives of patients who need help now.”
The initial response to AFibSurgeons.org from world-renowned cardiac surgeons exceeded expectations. Cardiac surgeons supporting this new community include Drs. Vaughn Starnes, Patrick McCarthy, Vinay Badhwar, Steven Bolling, Jonathan Philpott, Husam Balkhy, Marc Gerdisch, Kevin Accola and James Cox.
To experience AFibSurgeons.org, click here.
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About Clinical Cardiac, Inc. – Clinical Cardiac is a leading provider of web development services for cardiac applications including physician education and patient recruitment for medical device manufactures, health systems, hospitals and physicians. Clinical Cardiac released PatientEvolution, a novel and high-velocity patient recruitment platform for commercially-approved therapies and clinical trials. Clinical Cardiac is privately held and based in Torrance, California. To learn more, visit PatientEvolution.com.
For questions about Clinical Cardiac, Inc. or AFibSurgeons.org, please call (888) 246-0126.
Clinical Cardiac, Inc.
21515 Hawthorne Blvd.
Suite 200
Torrance, CA 90503
(888) 246-0126
