On the occasion of Heart Week, organized by the French Federation of Cardiology, the Hospices Civil de Lyon (HCL) highlights the latest technology used by its hospitals to treat heart rhythm disorders: electroporation.
Dr. Samir Farea, a cardiologist at Croix-Rousse Hospital, explains in a press statement that electrical ablation “consists of producing high-voltage electrical waves in a few fractions of a second, to irreversibly open nanopores in the membranes of the targeted heart cells, leading to their destruction.” “. launch.
Less restrictive technology
This technique is used for people suffering from atrial fibrillation – 750,000 in France, a disease that manifests itself in irregular and often rapid heart contractions and changes the quality of life of the patients concerned.
When medications are not enough, patients undergo radiofrequency or cryotherapy, which are effective methods but take longer, are more tiring and have more serious side effects than electrical waves, especially on the tissues surrounding the heart.
The electroporation process has been practiced since February 2023 by HCL. In France, only about twenty hospitals have used it since the beginning of the year.
Heart Week takes place from September 26 to 29. On this occasion, HCL is organizing screening and emergency procedure initiation workshops at Edward Herriot and Croix-Rousse Hospitals. Information on www.chu-lyon.fr/nouvelle-du-coeur-ateliers-et-depistages
