Atrial Fibrillation Program

Our Approach

Renai Hospital Heart Center is among the national leading diagnostic and treatment centers for patients with all types of heart rhythm conditions, including atrial fibrillation.As part of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Service, our Atrial Fibrillation Program provides highly individualized care for patients with this disease. Delivering individualized care means recognizing that each patient's situation is unique. Our model of care emphasizes working closely with you, your referring physician and a team of atrial fibrillation specialists at Renai to develop a customized treatment plan that decreases your stroke risk and reduces or eliminates your symptoms.

Your treatment plan is based on factors such as:

Age

Lifestyle

Severity of symptoms

Type of atrial fibrillation

The presence of associated heart disease in addition to atrial fibrillation

A Team Approach to Care

Each member of our team specializes in treating atrial fibrillation and other cardiac arrhythmias. Care teams typically include specialists such as an electrophysiologist (a cardiologist who specializes in heart rhythm conditions), a cardiologist, a cardiac radiologist, an echocardiographer and a cardiac anesthesiologist, as well as nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

A team approach combined with high-volume experience enhances our ability to:

Determine the cause of your condition

Develop a treatment plan that optimizes safety and effectiveness

Decrease your stroke risk and reduce or eliminate symptoms

Monitor your progress and response to treatment

What to Expect

At your first visit, you will meet with one of our doctors along with a nurse practitioner or physician assistant. The doctor will conduct a physical exam and review your medical history and laboratory tests.

If more diagnostic information is needed, additional testing may be advised. Our team includes cardiac radiologists who evaluate your heart by using advanced imaging technology capable of rendering the heart in remarkable detail.

Patient education is a cornerstone of our care model. During your first and subsequent visits, we will partner with you to ensure that you understand your condition and treatment options. We want to be sure you have the information you need to make educated decisions about your immediate and long-term care.

Leading Treatments & Procedures

Our program is internationally recognized for the treatment of Atrial Fibrillation and other cardiac arrhythmias, and patients have access to the most advanced treatments.

Observation or medication is typically the first option for managing patients, but some require a procedural intervention to achieve control of their atrial fibrillation and its symptoms.

Medications include:

Anticoagulants for stroke prevention

Medications for heart-rate control during atrial fibrillation

Antiarrhythmic medications for prevention of atrial fibrillation

Catheter Ablation

Catheter ablation is a minimally invasive procedure that aims to restore the normal heart rhythm by inactivating the tissue that triggers and perpetuates atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias.

Our team of experts has made important contributions that have helped advance the field of catheter ablation using radiofrequency (heat) energy. Moreover, we pioneered the use of cryoablation (cold energy) as an alternative energy source and have found it to be very successful in many patients. Members of our team are also investigating the use of a visually-guided laser ablation as a new energy source to perform catheter ablation.

Types of catheter ablations:

Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is a minimally invasive procedure in which a flexible catheter is inserted into the heart via a vein in the leg to electrically isolate the pulmonary veins from the rest of the heart. This procedure can eliminate or significantly reduce the severity and frequency of atrial fibrillation episodes in the majority of patients

Atrial flutter ablation is a minimally invasive procedure where the physician targets the area in which the circuit for atrial flutter is located. By inactivating this tissue, the atrial flutter can be eliminated

AV node ablation is reserved for patients who have advanced heart disease in addition to having atrial fibrillation and/or atrial flutter. The AV node is ablated and a permanent pacemaker with or without a defibrillator is inserted. This procedure eliminates the arrhythmias and helps maintain a normal heart rate

Our program also offers:

The WATCHMAN device, a left atrial appendage closure device designed to replace blood-thinning medications. Electrical cardioversion, a noninvasive procedure in which the normal heart rhythm is restored. The MAZE procedure, reserved for patients who have atrial fibrillation and need open heart surgery for a heart valve repair/replacement and/or a coronary artery bypass.

One Call Coordinates Care

Please call (8621)54893781 or request an appointment on line. or. Our access team is available to triage your call and arrange a prompt evaluation with the most appropriate atrial fibrillation specialist.

The Benefits of a Regular Heartbeat

Atrial fibrillation is the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia. In this disease, electrical signals in the atria  fire in a fast and uncontrolled manner which significantly increases the risk of stroke. Patients with atrial fibrillation often suffer debilitating symptoms, including palpitations, rapid heart action, fatigue, loss of energy, shortness of breath, lightheadedness and chest discomfort. Restoring a regular heartbeat can dramatically improve quality of life by:

Eliminating or alleviating these symptoms

Lowering the risk of stroke

Preventing irreversible damage to the heart muscle

Leaders in Diagnosing & Treating Arrhythmias

The Atrial Fibrillation Program is part of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Service at Renai Hopital. Since 2007 our service has provided state-of-the-art care for patients with all types of cardiac arrhythmias, with atrial fibrillation as our primary focus. We were among the first in Shanghi to treat atrial fibrillation using catheter ablation, with both radiofrequency and cryoablation. We were the first in Shanghai to use image integration, a technology that blends high-quality images of the heart to create three-dimensional views of unprecedented accuracy, for guiding catheter ablation. We are pioneering the development of a tool to assess the severity of symptoms associated with atrial fibrillation, a critical step for determining the most effective treatment plan.

An International Reputation for Excellence

Today, the Cardiac Arrhythmia Service is recognized internationally for its work in the field of clinical electrophysiology, a cardiac subspecialty focused on abnormal heart rhythms.

Our physicians are Harvard Medical School faculty who:

Conduct research to further our understanding of cardiac arrhythmias and advance the field

Help write treatment guidelines for atrial fibrillation used by doctors and hospitals throughout the world.

Participate in the development of devices for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and stroke prevention.

Publish extensively in leading academic journals and present their findings at major scientific meetings

The Atrial Fibrillation Program is directed byexperienced physicians . Their major clinical interest is treating atrial fibrillation, and they are active clinical consultants in all aspects of this disease (e.g. medical treatment, catheter ablation and stroke prevention). They have mastered the art of catheter ablation using radiofrequency and complete a large number of these procedures every year.

The team members continue to pioneer the use of new technologies for ablation for atrial fibrillation, including cryoablation and laser balloon ablation for pulmonary vein isolation. In addition, they perform implantation of the Watchman device for stroke prevention.

Our team members also study the genetic basis of atrial fibrillation to uncover its underlying causes. Since 2001 our studies have enrolled more than 900 participants and have helped identify two new genes that cause atrial fibrillation. Patients in our program may be able to participate in clinical research studies of new technologies and treatments available only at few other hospitalsin Shanghai.

Research Aimed at Improving Patient Care

The Cardiac Arrhythmia Service was founded to conduct groundbreaking research into atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias, a mission that continues today. Through our preclinical research, we develop new tools for treating patients (e.g. catheters, mapping systems, imaging technologies). Clinical research involves studying these new technologies in greater depth to bring new treatments to patients as quickly as possible. .

Conditions & Diseases

At Renai Heart Center, patient education is a cornerstone in our model of care. We have included links to information about other diseases and conditions treated by the Atrial Fibrillation Program as well as information about strokes and TIAs (mini-strokes). Our primary goal in treating patients with atrial fibrillation is preventing stroke and reducing stroke risk.

Atrial Flutter

Atrial Flutter is a type of arrhythmia in which the electrical signal fires rapidly but regularly from one or more regions in the atria (upper chambers of the heart), causing an increased heart rate that can sometimes progress into atrial fibrillation.

Sinus Rhythm

Normal sinus rhythm is the normal rhythm of the heart in which an electrical impulse originates in the sinus node, which then stimulates the atria (upper chambers of the heart) to contract and empty blood into the ventricles (lower chambers of the heart). The impulse then travels to the ventricles, which then contract and push blood out of the heart to the rest of the body.

Stroke

Stroke, also called brain attack, occurs when blood flow to the brain is disrupted.

Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)

Also known as a "mini-stroke," a transient ischemic attack produces stroke-like symptoms but produces no permanent damage.

Arrhythmias

Arrhythmias are heart rhythm disorders that may originate in the atria (the receiving chambers of the heart) or the ventricles (the pumping chambers of the heart).

Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is a type of arrhythmia where the electrical signals in the atria (the two small chambers of the heart) are fired in a very fast and uncontrolled manner.