Updated
Updated · the X Radio · Jun 16
Illinois Patient Receives Abbott Volt PFA Procedure at 75, Avoiding General Anesthesia
Updated
Updated · the X Radio · Jun 16

Illinois Patient Receives Abbott Volt PFA Procedure at 75, Avoiding General Anesthesia

3 articles · Updated · the X Radio · Jun 16

Summary

  • 75-year-old Carolyn Burk of Watson became the first patient in Illinois to undergo treatment with Abbott’s Volt Pulsed Field Ablation system for atrial fibrillation.
  • Dr. Bharath Rajagopalan of Prairie Cardiovascular performed the procedure, which uses short, rapid electrical pulses to map, target and destroy small areas of heart tissue causing irregular rhythm.
  • The Volt system also lets eligible patients choose sedation instead of general anesthesia, a feature Prairie Cardiovascular highlighted alongside Burk’s reported improvement.
  • Burk had lived with AFib since her teenage years, making the procedure a milestone both for her care and for the technology’s rollout in Illinois.

Insights

With new drugs also improving AFib treatment, could this expensive high-tech procedure become obsolete before it's widely adopted?
The new AFib procedure is safer, so why do up to 5% of patients still suffer serious complications like stroke?