I’m speaking with Dr. Patrick M. McCarthy, a Board Certified Thoracic and Cardiac Surgeon, currently the Executive Director of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, and Chief of Cardiac Surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern.  His list of honors and awards is extensive, and his focus and specialties include:

Valve Repair/Replacement

Mitral Valve Repair

Atrial Fibrillation Surgery

Maze Procedure

Aortic Aneurysm

Coronary Bypass Surgery

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy / Myectomy

Minimally Invasive Surgery

Join us as we discuss Dr. McCarthy’s findings and how they have affected, or should affect, treatments and surgeries for AFib.

Discussion points:

Introduction and background – Dr. Patrick M. McCarthy

Why this paper? Why was it necessary?

When you think about the industry before this paper, what percentage had AFib pre-surgery?

How AFib nurses at Northwestern identify AFib patients pre-surgery

Percentages of mitral valve surgical patients with AFib before surgery

Surgeons MUST discuss and find any history of AFib with patients before surgery

How should we screen for AFib?

Why were certain female/diabetic patients in the study not treated?

Why aren’t more surgeons treating AFib?

How Dr. McCarthy’s trainees are educated re: treating AFib

Discussion of the newer variations on the Maze IV procedure

It only takes a total of about 8 minutes for the cryoablation procedure, so there’s no excuse not to treat

Surgeons need about 5 surgeries to master the procedure

McCarthy’s message to surgeons: Don’t shy away, its easier to learn these days, and should be performed

Resources:

Link to the published paper: Prevalence of atrial fibrillation before cardiac surgery and factors associated with concomitant ablation

Dr. Patrick McCarthy at Northwestern U.

Dr. Kiankhooy LinkedIn

All Things AFib Website

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All Things AFib YouTube Channel