Baylor Heart and Vascular Hospital Announces First Patient Procedure in the United States to Treat Atrial Fibrillation Using New Catheter for Cryoablation Technology

DALLAS, May 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Baylor Jack and
Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital today announced the first
patient procedure in the U.S. using the Achieve™ Mapping
Catheter, an intra-cardiac electrophysiology diagnostic catheter
that can be used to assess pulmonary vein isolation when treating
paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). Atrial fibrillation is the
most common and one of the most undertreated heart rhythm
disorders. The procedure was performed last week by an
electrophysiologist on the medical staff at Baylor Heart and
Vascular Hospital in Dallas.

The new catheter technology is approved by the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration for use with Medtronic’s Arctic Front®
Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter System to provide a more
straightforward treatment approach. When used in conjunction with
Arctic Front, the Achieve Mapping Catheter combines pulmonary vein
diagnostic and ablation capabilities in a single system. The
Achieve Mapping Catheter is deployed through the Arctic Front guide
wire lumen enabling the Arctic Front procedure to be performed
using a single transseptal puncture with minimal catheter
exchanges, enabling physicians to map electrical conduction between
the left atrium and pulmonary veins in order to assess pulmonary
vein potentials before, during and after cryoablation.

“In many cases, this new mapping catheter will allow real-time
assessment for PV isolation and provide valuable information
regarding time-to-effect during the cryoablation procedure,” said
Dr. Robert Kowal, M.D., Ph. D., an electrophysiologist on the
medical staff at BHVH. “The procedure can be completed more
efficiently by incorporating this new technology.”

The Arctic Front Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter, approved by the
FDA in December 2010, is the first and only cryoballoon in the
United States indicated for the treatment of PAF. Baylor Heart and
Vascular Hospital was the first in North Texas to offer the Arctic
Front

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