The FirstHealth Arrhythmia Center offers comprehensive treatment for patients with atrial fibrillation (an abnormal heart rhythm). Atrial fibrillation used to be considered to be a harmless annoyance but is now recognized as a dangerous condition that can double the risk of death. Patients with atrial fibrillation are five to seven times more likely to have a stroke and the disease may also cause congestive heart failure and uncomfortable symptoms related to a rapid heart rate.

An estimated 2.2 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, although many believe that number should be revised upward. If current trends continue, a threefold increase in the condition is predicted over the next five decades, with as many as 16 million Americans affected by 2050.

The FirstHealth Arrhythmia Center offers the new Ex-Maze ablation, which uses heat generated by radio frequency to create a comprehensive lesion pattern that corrects the electrical impulses in the heart muscle. Andy C. Kiser, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgeon at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital is one of the developers of both the device and the procedure. Dr. Kiser also serves medical director for the FirstHealth Arrhythmia Center. 

Click here to see what Ex-maze patients say after having had the treatment.

The FirstHealth Arrhythmia Center is located in the FirstHealth Cardiovascular and Thoracic Center in the FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital Outpatient Center at 30 Page Road in Pinehurst.

For more information, call (910) 715-1713 or toll-free (877) 715-4111.