Delray Medical Center is the first hospital in Palm Beach County to offer a procedure to treat a patient with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AFib), using a combination of advanced technology to destroy targeted areas in the heart associated with abnormal heart rhythms and concurrent implantation of a left atrial appendage closure device.

The first minimally invasive surgery at the hospital combining the two treatments in a single procedure was performed by Yoel Vivas, M.D., a cardiologist and board-certified clinical cardiac electrophysiologist, who serves as the Director of Delray Medical Center’s Electrophysiology Department.

For the procedure at Delray Medical Center, Dr. Vivas used the hospital’s FARAPULSE™ Pulsed Field Ablation System to ablate the patient’s problematic heart tissue and avoid damage to surrounding structures. The system, which received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January 2024, relies on tissue-selective, non-thermal electric fields to destroy the heart tissue.

As part of the same procedure, Dr. Vivas placed an umbrella-shaped device, known as a WATCHMAN™ implant, in the patient’s left atrial appendage through a catheter inserted into a large blood vessel, sealing the opening to this area and preventing blood clot formation. Over time, new heart tissue grows over the implant and permanently seals off the left atrial appendage.