Publications by authors named "R X Schuessler"
Article Synopsis
- Obesity is an independent factor that contributes to the development of atrial fibrillation (AF) and can affect the success rates of catheter ablation procedures, but this study focuses on surgical outcomes through the biatrial Cox maze IV procedure.
- Patients were split into two groups based on BMI (under 30 and 30 or above) to assess differences in outcomes, finding that the obese group had higher diabetes rates and larger heart sizes but similar complication rates as non-obese patients.
- The study concluded that, unlike catheter ablation, obesity does not negatively affect the short or long-term outcomes of surgical AF procedures, and BMI isn't a predictor of AF recurrence in these patients.
Introduction: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia, and results in significant morbidity and mortality. The Cox-Maze IV procedure (CMP-IV) has been shown to have excellent efficacy in returning patients to sinus rhythm, but there have been few reports of late follow-up in sizable cohorts of patients with longstanding persistent AF, the most difficult type of AF to treat.
Methods And Results: Between May 2003 and March 2020, 174 consecutive patients underwent a stand-alone CMP-IV for longstanding persistent AF.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the Cox-Maze IV procedure combined with septal myectomy in patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy and atrial fibrillation to improve rates of atrial tachyarrhythmias (ATAs).
- Between 2005 and 2019, 42 patients underwent this combined surgery, achieving high rates of freedom from recurrent ATAs: 93% at one year and 100% at five years; additionally, a significant reduction in functional class was observed post-surgery.
- The results indicated that the procedure could lower the risk of cerebrovascular accidents compared to those who only had the septal myectomy, while also highlighting the importance of left atrial diameter as a predictor for ATA recurrence