Surgery for Atrial Fibrillation – Bill’s Story

Bill Bowen, 58, of Pasadena, MD, was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation three years ago. Atrial fibrillation, commonly referred to as “A-Fib,” is a type of abnormal heartbeat or arrhythmia.   

This arrhythmia is a common heart condition that, if left untreated, can cause heart dysfunction and stroke. Treatment for A-Fib can include medication or electrical shocks to restore normal heart rhythm. In Bill’s case, those treatments worked for a while, but his symptoms returned.  He needed something better.   His cardiologist recommended Murtaza Dawood, MD, an experienced cardiac surgeon at Luminis Health to treat his atrial fibrillation. 

“Mr. Bowen’s case is not uncommon. Typically patients will try medical management first, but the durability of those interventions are limited in a subset of patients. Mr. Bowen was an ideal candidate for a hybrid approach to cure his atrial fibrillation,” Dr. Dawood says.  The hybrid approach merges minimally invasive catheter ablation with minimally invasive surgical ablation to treat atrial fibrillation. 

Bill arrived at Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center for surgery in the summer of 2022.   

“From the moment I went to Dr. Dawood’s office to the day I was discharged, everyone went above and beyond. They were kind, helpful and professional,” Bill says. “Every person I interacted with, from the food delivery staff to the cleaners, was friendly and personable. I ran into my nutritionist and she gave me her office number if I needed anything.  You don’t see that type of service anymore.” 

Bill is back home and hopes to return to his job in industrial maintenance soon. He says he and his wife are “beach people” and they hope to visit someplace tropical, perhaps Costa Rica, in the future.