Atrial Fibrillation Treatments at the Stanford Arrhythmia Center

Board certified in clinical cardiac electrophysiology, Dr. Sanjiv M. Narayan teaches medicine, cardiology, and bioengineering as a professor at Stanford University. Dr. Sanjiv Narayan also co-founded the Stanford Arrhythmia Center, which develops world-class therapies for heart-rhythm disorders.

Disorders treated at the center include atrial fibrillation (AFib), a condition characterized by an abnormal heart rhythm that causes fatigue and heart palpitations. The center’s staff and specialists provide comprehensive care for patients with AFib using the least invasive techniques possible. Patient treatment begins with two essential steps: stroke assessment and management, followed by the restoration of normal heart rhythm and rate.

Every patient at the center receives a care plan based on a thorough evaluation of his or her risk for a stroke. The plan outlines the necessary medications and advanced treatments to manage strokes. The second step focuses on restoring the heart’s normal rhythm and rate and relieving associated symptoms. While the center’s care staff prioritize finding the most minimally invasive approaches, treatments can range from medication to lifestyle changes. Furthermore, doctors may consider ways to alleviate related heart disorders.

If minimally invasive approaches fail to correct AFib symptoms, the center offers a variety of procedures carried out by skilled doctors and surgeons. Doctors collaborate with patients to determine the best possible approach, which may include electrical cardioversion, catheter ablation, or maze surgery.

Dipole Density Mapping Study Mirrors Work of Dr. Sanjiv Narayan

A leading researcher in atrial fibrillation (AF), Dr. Sanjiv M. Narayan operates as a professor of medicine and bioengineering at Stanford University, as well as director of the school’s electrophysiology research and atrial fibrillation programs. In 2017, a research group from Cambridge University published the study “Dipole Density Mapping of Atrial Fibrillation,” which reproduced many of the same results Dr. Sanjiv Narayan and his team had discovered in the 2012 paper, “Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation By the Ablation of Localized Sources.”

First published in the medical text European Heart Journal, the team responsible for the 2017 paper was led by Professor Andrew Grace, PhD, of Cambridge University. The researchers contend that a process known as dipole density mapping provides scientists with a more accurate representation of complex arrhythmias than the standard electrocardiogram. This is because the electrocardiogram is a voltage-based mapping system that can obscure complex patterns in arrhythmia by blending activities the dipole density mapping method is capable of delineating. Dipole density mapping delineates by measuring local charge-sources within the interior surface of the heart chamber being tested.