Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center recently announced that Dr. Alfred Medina, a prominent electro-physiologist has joined the staff of the hospital’s Jesselson Heart Center. Dr. Medina, who was previously employed at the city’s Bikur Holim Hospital for more than two and a half decades, is an expert in the treatment of heart arrhythmias through a process called cardiac ablation.

Dr. Medina’s addition to the Jesselson Heart Center is designed to position Shaare Zedek as a leader in this increasingly important field of cardiac medicine. Cardiac ablation is a form of treatment wherein electric pulses are transferred into an affected area of the heart to address arrhythmias, which are abnormalities in the electrical activity of the heart.  While some arrhythmias, which can be found in a large percentage of the general population, are harmless, they often are an indication of more significant cardiac problems and when effectively treated can prevent the onset of heart disease.

Cardiac ablation addresses such problems by using highly advanced machinery to accurately detect where in the heart the electricity is not being transmitted properly.  Once detected, Dr. Medina and his team are able to effectively destroy the problematic area.  This is accomplished either through heat, where the affected region is destroyed by heat or cold, where its functions are essentially frozen.

Despite the very exact and complicated nature of the procedure, it can typically be achieved without opening the patient’s chest. Small incisions are made in the sides of the abdomen and a series of catheters are expertly woven into the affected area.  In most cases only local anesthetics are necessary and the procedure is completed within a few hours and the patient is usually released from the hospital the next day.

The hope is that with the hiring of Dr. Medina and the necessary investment in new equipment that number will grow to over 100 within a couple of years.  “Dr. Medina represents an exciting contribution to our hospital and the Jesselson Heart Center by ensuring that our provision of care is all that much more comprehensive,” said Shaare Zedek Director General Professor Jonathan Halevy.  “His level of expertise in this very important field of cardiac medicine will significantly benefit our patient community.”