A grape-sized electric balloon could make irregular heartbeats a thing of the past by resetting the organ's electrical activity in seconds.
According to the Daily Mail, the operation is set to be introduced in heart clinics across the country following widespread approval by NHS health chiefs, with specialists describing it as the 'next frontier' of heart treatment.
Roughly 1.4 million Britons suffer with an irregular heartbeat – or atrial fibrillation, as it is medically known – which happens when the nerves in the heart misfire.
Over time it can lead to blood pooling and clotting inside the heart, which can trigger a life-threatening stroke, or cause debilitating palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath and tiredness.
During the new treatment, called radiofrequency balloon ablation, a balloon fitted with ten electrodes is inserted through an artery in the groin and threaded up to the pulmonary veins – which carry oxygenated blood to the heart and where damaged nerves are usually found.
Monitoring the heart's electrical signals in real time using a sensor in the balloon, surgeons inflate it and fire up the electrodes to deliver precise bursts of extreme heat which forms scar tissue and blocks abnormal pulses. The technique is able to regulate the heartbeat within just ten seconds.
The surgery is performed under local anesthetic, and also leaves healthy tissue in the heart unscathed which means that patients suffer fewer complications. Dr. Malcolm Finlay, consultant cardiologist at Barts Heart Centre in London, said: "This is the next frontier of heart treatment. The technique is very rapid and incredibly accurate. This means patients are recovering quicker and can be in and out of hospital in less than a day."
People with cardiac problems are more likely to suffer atrial fibrillation due to the excess strain on the organ. But in many cases, doctors cannot explain why it happens.
