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A HYBRID MAZE IS A
TWO-STEP PROCEDURE:
For help getting A-Fib under
control, call 855.222.2342 or
visit
www.adventistheart.org.How a hybrid
maze works
Dr. Dunnington says the hybrid maze
procedure may be a good option for
people who, like Blendu, have tried other
treatments without success. But often they
and their doctors aren’t aware a next-step
treatment exists.
“We can take people who’ve been in A-Fib
for decades and get them back into normal
rhythm, and they just feel phenomenally
better,” Dr. Dunnington says.
Finishing fast without A-Fib
Not long after her hybrid maze, Blendu
was literally up and running. Not only did
she run her first marathon, but in June
she finished her fastest Half Ironman yet—
shaving 27 minutes off her personal best.
And for the first time in years, Blendu is
living free of her limiting A-Fib regimen.
She only wishes her father, who lived with
A-Fib for 40 years, had known about the
procedure. With her A-Fib under control,
Blendu can put all of her heart into her
sport and her life.
“I have not been in A-Fib at all,” she says,
the emotion in her voice clear. “I cannot
tell you how happy I am.”
It’s been amazing.
I have been off of heart
medications for a year.
I never would have thought
that was possible.
—Jenni Blendu
“
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STEP
1
Using several small incisions for cameras
and tools, a surgeon uses radio wave
energy to create scar lines on the surface
of the heart. This forces the heart’s
electrical signals to follow a path that will
create a normal heart rhythm.
“Basically, we’re trying to keep the heart
from short-circuiting,” Dr. Dunnington
says. “You want the natural electrical
pathway to be maintained so that the
current cannot circle on itself. You force
it in the correct direction.”
Because both procedures are minimally
invasive, there is less pain and usually
a much faster recovery than traditional
open-heart surgery.
STEP
2
Several weeks later, an
electrophysiologist inserts a catheter into
a small incision in the groin and threads
it up to the heart. Then radio waves are
used to create more scar lines, this time
inside the heart. This reinforces the path
created by the first procedure.
Gan Dunnington, MD