IASO General Clinic, having as its binding objective to be a pioneer in the diagnosis and treatment of heart diseases, it is at the forefront of the latest cutting-edge technologies in the field of cardiac electrophysiology, specifically in the treatment of atrial fibrillation with ablation.

Atrial fibrillation ablation is a minimally invasive and safe procedure. It restores the normal heart rhythm and can prevent the adverse effects that are induced by atrial fibrillation.

Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA), using the Farapulse Pulsed Field Ablation System (Boston Scientific), constitutes a new technology for atrial fibrillation ablation. Through a special catheter, high-intensity electrical pulses are applied, which result in the electrical isolation of specific areas of the atrial myocardium, which cause atrial fibrillation by a process called electroporation of the cell membrane. In this way, excellent efficiency, greater safety and a significantly shorter duration of surgery are achieved.

The Heart Rhythm Center of IASO General Clinic, is a pioneer in atrial fibrillation ablation, handling a great number of highly specialized and complex cases. It recently started applying pulsed field ablation technology, with excellent results.

In fact, for the first time in Greece, the 3D-visualization and navigation of this new catheter in real time became possible, in the 3D model of the left atrium, by using the 3D mapping system Ensite (by Abbott). This specific procedure ensured absolute accuracy in the location of the energy output and contributed to the evaluation of the excellent result following an ablation with detailed mapping.

This particular effort was a result of the teamwork of the doctors, the nursing and technical staff, as well as the collaboration of the companies Boston Scientific and Abbott. The consistent and systematic work of the Heart Rhythm Center receives significant recognition and rewards its contributors:

Panagiotis Ioannidis, MD, PhD, Cardiologist - Electrophysiologist, Director of the Heart Rhythm Center, IASO General Clinic; Dimitrios Katsaras, MD, MSc, Cardiologist - Electrophysiologist, Attending Doctor of the Heart Rhythm Center; Evangelia Christoforatou, MD, PhD, Cardiologist, Director of the Cardiac Ultrasound Department - Scientific Head of the Pacemaker – Defibrillator Department, IASO General Clinic; Konstantinos Kouvelas, MD, Cardiologist, Attending Doctor of the Cardiology Department, Scientific Head of the Heart Rhythm Center, Pacemaker – Defibrillator Department, IASO General Clinic; Panagiotis Charalampopoulos, MD, Anesthesiologist, Associate of the Heart Rhythm Center, IASO General Clinic; Ioannis Raitsos - Exarchopoulos, MD, Anesthesiologist, Associate of the Heart Rhythm Center, IASO General Clinic

For more journalistic information: Nancy Christopoulou, IASO Group Commercial & Marketing Department, tel.: 210 6383917, E-mail: [email protected]