The University Clinical Hospital in Wrocław is the first in Lower Silesia to introduce a new method of treating patients at risk of sudden cardiac death. The substernal cardioverter-defibrillator implantation procedure was performed by a team led by Dr. Krzysztof Nowak. This is a significant advance in the field of cardiac electrotherapy, opening up new possibilities for patients with cardiac arrhythmias.
The new device saves the lives of patients at particularly high risk of sudden cardiac death due to arrhythmic causes. Importantly, this applies to both people with advanced heart failure and young patients with genetic predisposition to heart rhythm disorders, for example with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
As explained by Dr. Krzysztof Nowak, coordinator of the Cardiac Arrhythmias Department at the Cardiology Clinic of the University Clinical Hospital, the implanted system functions like a private guard of the heart – it monitors its function around the clock and automatically responds to dangerous arrhythmias.
The introduced innovation significantly reduces the risk of complications associated with electrotherapy.
Future prospects
The introduction of the new method broadens the spectrum of therapeutic options available to cardiology patients in Lower Silesia. Thanks to the increased availability of diagnostic methods, including genetic testing and cardiac resonance imaging, the number of young patients with identified predispositions to life-threatening heart rhythm disorders is growing, who often do not show any previous symptoms of heart disease.
The team of the Invasive Electrophysiology Laboratory of the USK in Wrocław, closely cooperating with cardiac surgeons from the Institute of Heart Diseases, is already planning further procedures using this innovative method. Doctors predict that in the next year several dozen patients may benefit from the new technology.
Text and photos: UCH Wrocław
