Skip to contents
In This Issue:
BWH’s Laurence Epstein, MD, chief of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Service, performed a percutaneous catheter based procedure via live webcast on February 26. This is BWH’s fifth live webcast to date and the first of four scheduled for 2004.
The procedure took place at BWH’s Electrophysiology lab and enabled viewers to see a live catheter ablation surgery for atrial fibrillation, or irregular heartbeat, which affects more than two million Americans. The purpose of the webcast was to educate viewers on the noninvasive procedure for common heart conditions. Doctors from other hospitals and medical schools, as well as the general public, had the opportunity to log-on to the webcast by visiting BWH’s website.
“This procedure allows us to demonstrate how this procedure is performed and the impact it can have on the millions of people who suffer from atrial fibrillation,” said Epstein.
Viewers were able to see 3D images of the procedure during which, William Stevenson, MD, director of the Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Program, assisted Epstein by providing narration and answering e-mails from Web viewers.
“We were delighted to be able to demonstrate this therapy. I was particularly pleased that physicians and patients were able to see what is involved in this procedure,” said Stevenson.