About AFibSurgeons.org
Atrial Fibrillation is a serious health concern that is transitioning from a debilitating disease to a global epidemic. In the United States, the prevalence of AFib is projected to increase over 300% from 5 million patients in 2010 to 12 million patients in 2030, according to the American Heart Association. From a world-wide perspective, over 33 million people currently suffer from the symptoms and the risks of atrial fibrillation. To learn more about the medical and economic burden of atrial fibrillation, click here.
Even though concomitant surgical ablation has a Class I recommendation, atrial fibrillation is under-treated. According to the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, less than 10% of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) get concomitant surgical ablation during heart surgery.
To raise awareness to atrial fibrillation and the benefits of surgical ablation treatment, AFibSurgeons.org was founded in 2019. With support from AtriCure, Inc, the sponsor of AFibSurgeons.org, the website launched to educate surgeons and to inspire a collaborative environment in a unique, interactive and trusted community. Ultimately, AFibSurgeons.org was designed to help surgeons share skill sets and best practices for atrial fibrillation treatment using surgical ablation techniques including the Maze procedure.
The response to AFibSurgeons.org has been favorable. Shortly after announcing AFibSurgeons.org, many world-renowned surgeons connected at The Society of Thoracic Surgeons meeting on January 28, 2019 to film an educational video series about surgical ablation. Participating surgeons included:
- Dr. Kevin Accola (AdventHealth)
- Dr. Vinay Badhwar (WVU Medicine)
- Dr. Husam Balkhy (University of Chicago Medicine)
- Dr. Steve Bolling (Michigan Medicine)
- Dr. Luis Castro (Dignity Health / Sequoia Hospital)
- Dr. Marc Gerdisch (Franciscan Health)
- Dr. Katherine Harrington (The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano)
- Dr. Steven Hoff (Orlando Health)
- Dr. Ali Khoynezhad (Memorial Care Long Beach)
- Dr. Armin Kiankhooy (Keck School of Medicine of USC)
- Dr. Patrick McCarthy (Northwestern Memorial Hospital)
- Dr. Matt Romano (Michigan Medicine)
- Dr. Eric Roselli (Cleveland Clinic)
- Dr. Richard Shemin (UCLA Health System)
- Dr. Vaughn Starnes (Keck School of Medicine of USC)
To manage the launch and the roll-out of AFibSurgeons.org, an Advisory Board was formed. The advisors will help create, review and moderate timely content posted at the website. In addition, the advisors will provide feedback on potential new features and new services at the website. The initial advisors include Dr. Glenn Barnhart, Dr. Gan Dunnington, Dr. Jonathan Philpott, Dr. Marc Gerdisch and Dr. Gianluca Torregrossa.
To learn how you can join our community and advance atrial fibrillation therapy, please contact us or call (888) 387-0413. You can also email us at info@afibsurgeons.org. Additionally, you can also sign-up for our free email newsletter to stay in-touch with our community.
