BREAKTHROUGH: Radiotherapy used to cure heart rhythm problems for first time in Spain

A PIONEERING technique has been used to tackle heart arrhythmia (irregular heartbeats) at the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona.

For the first time ever in the peninsula, radiotherapy was used on a 64-year-old man suffering with a heart condition and, to date, his arrhythmias have reportedly disappeared.

According to the Science Information and News Service, SINC, the initiative allows the treatment to be carried out on those on which the usual methods are unsuccessful and the patient’s health could be at risk, as in the case of a heart transplant.

Julio Martí, head of the Cardiology Department at the Barcelona hospital, has highlighted the complexity of the technique and the high level of field specialisation required from professionals involved.

The procedure, despite its complexity, has an approximate duration of 30 minutes compared to traditional techniques that can take up to two hours.

Eligible patients can benefit from the procedure if they suffer from epicardial disease, meaning that the arrhythmia originates in the outer zone of the cardiac muscle.