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St. Luke's Medical Center-Global City performs 1st atrial fibrillation ablation in PHL
The St. Luke's Medical Center- Global City (Cardiac Arrhythmia Center) performed the first atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in the Philippines. The procedure was done using the Ensite Velocity System, a cutting-edge cardiac mapping and navigation system that is utilized to generate a 3-dimensional cardiac model that aids in rapid diagnosis and treatment of arrhythmias. This system is only available in the Philippines at St. Luke’s Medical Center-Global City.
Edmund Ang, MD (right) and Jay E. Tiongson, MD (left) performing the country’s first atrial fibrillation ablation with the aid of the Ensite Velocity System.
The team was headed by Edmund O. Ang, MD, head of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Center at SLMC-GC and assisted by Jay E. Tiongson, MD, cardiac electrophysiologist of the New Mexico Heart Institute in the USA and Marcellus Francis L. Ramirez, MD, cardiac electrophysiologist at SLMC. The team successfully carried out the procedure on a patient who still continuously experienced episodes of AF despite treatment with anti-arrhythmic medication.
AF is the most common type of arrhythmia or heart rhythm problem. In patients with AF, the heart beats irregularly due to abnormal electrical activity in its upper chambers. This irregular beating can cause symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness and can ultimately lead to stroke and heart failure.
The St. Luke’s team that performed the atrial fibrillation ablation (from left to right): Marcellus Francis L. Ramirez, MD, Jay E. Tiongson, MD of the New Mexico Heart Institute; Edmund O. Ang, MD SLMC-GC Cardiac Arrhythmia Center Head, Peter Carlo Tan, RN and Joe Ng, Technical Specialist of the Ensite 3D Mapping System.
As medications are often ineffective in patients with AF, catheter ablation offers the possibility of more definitive treatment of the arrhythmia. It permanently corrects AF by ablating or cauterizing specific areas around the heart that produces irregular electrical impulses and triggers arrhythmia. “With AF ablation, patients who cannot tolerate or are not responsive to medications now have a more definitive solution to their condition,” said Dr. Ang. “Furthermore, this form of treatment improves the patient's quality of life.”
For inquiries on Atrial Fibrillation Ablation, call the Cardiac Arrhythmia Center of St. Luke’s Medical Center – Global City at (02) 7897700 ext. 2014/ 2015. Press release and photos from St. Luke’s Medical Center – Global City
