Doctors at the Vietnam Heart Institute successfully performed an intervention to ablate atrial fibrillation using an advanced technology called a cryotherapy balloon. — Photo courtesy of Vietnam Heart Institute

HÀ NỘI — Doctors from the Vietnam Heart Institute on October 31 successfully performed an intervention to ablate atrial fibrillation using an advanced balloon cryoablation (cryoballoon) technique to isolate the pulmonary veins.

This is the first cardiovascular centre in Việt Nam to master this new technique of treating complex arrhythmias.

The patient is Ngô Bá L., 39 years old, suffering from paroxysmal atrial fibrillation since 2021. Atrial fibrillation attacks frequently appeared, causing many symptoms of palpitations and fatigue.

The patient was treated with anti-arrhythmic drugs but the response became increasingly poor. Recently, atrial fibrillation episodes have become more frequent and prolonged, causing patients to develop symptoms of heart failure.

The institute’s experts decided to treat atrial fibrillation by applying a new technology, called cryoballoon, to isolate the pulmonary veins to prevent the recurrence of arrhythmias and restore impaired heart function. If successful, the procedure will help the patient return to a normal life.

The patient recovered well after the intervention team safely and successfully performed the procedure within two hours.

Associate Professor Dr. Phạm Mạnh Hùng said that balloon cryoablation is a minimally invasive procedure that helps restore a regular heartbeat by disrupting the abnormal electrical pathways in the heart that cause atrial fibrillation.

“Cryoablation technique has been implemented in the world since 2013 with a high success rate and safety. Intervention time is shortened by 50 per cent compared to other atrial fibrillation ablation methods. With the mission to be an industry-leading cardiovascular centre, the Vietnam Heart Institute is determined to successfully deploy this technique,” said Hùng.

Since 2009, the Vietnam Heart Institute has routinely implemented radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, however, the procedure usually lasts three to five hours. The cryoablation technique helps reduce procedure time to one to two hours but still ensures safety and is equally effective.

Mastering advanced techniques to treat atrial fibrillation has opened up more hope and opportunities for Vietnamese patients. Patients with atrial fibrillation from now on do not need to go abroad for more expensive treatment. — VNS