Arrhythmia

Global Health Partner is currently looking into the possibility of setting up a fifth Service Line in the field of arrhythmia. As an initial step, Arrhythmia Center Stockholm started up in May 2009. This is a clinic specialising in the treatment of arrhythmia and is the first centre in Sweden to perform ablations using magnetic navigation, Stereotaxis. The clinic is already the ablation centre that performs the most fibrillation ablations in Sweden per year. The demand for ablation treatment on the Swedish market is very high, and waiting times for ablation treatment in the various county councils vary from four months to a couple of years.

An abnormal heart rhythm, arrhythmia, can express itself as a slow rhythm (bradyarrhythmia) or a rapid rhythm (tachyarrhythmia). The last-named affects around 1 – 1.5% of the adult population. A few of these patients have an extra conduction pathway between the atrium and the ventricle, but the most common form of rapid heart beat is so-called atrial fibrillation. Around 150,000 patients suffer from this condition in Sweden and these patients experience a rapid, irregular heart rhythm. Patients with atrial fibrillation are big healthcare consumers and several serious complications, such as stroke and heart failure, may result from the condition. Up to now these patients have largely been treated pharmacologically. Unfortunately these medicines often have an unsatisfactory effect and unpleasant side effects.

Catheter ablation of tachyarrhythmia has been used for almost 20 years. This method has revolutionised arrhythmia care and today more than 90% of patients with some form of extra conduction pathway can be offered a remedy. Over the past five years methods have been developed to include ablation treatment of atrial fibrillation patients. The technique has spread to a great extent internationally, but due to factors such as a lack of capacity, development has been slow in Sweden. The most recent national guidelines for heart care recommend that ablation of atrial fibrillation be given high priority. Demand for this procedure is therefore expected to increase significantly over the next few years.