Last year, Dr. Andrea Natale became one of the first cardiologists to implant a device to reduce strokes in patients with non-ventricular atrial fibrillation. The implant surgery marks the most recent in a series of medical contributions by the world-renowned Dr. Natale to save lives and advance scientific knowledge of AFib.
Dr. Andrea Natale implanted a WATCHMAN FLXTM Left Atrial Appendage Closure device in August 2020. The device cuts off blood flow to an area of the heart known as the left atrial appendage, which prevents blood clots from forming in the LAA. The device can make blood thinners unnecessary for patients suffering from AFib.
What is AFib?
AFib refers to a type of irregular heartbeat. A healthy heart beats between 40 and 100 beats per minute. AFib causes the heart to quiver, beating 300 to 600 beats per minute. If untreated, AFib can damage organs, including the brain, or cause strokes. Patients with AFib are five to six times more likely to experience a stroke than members of the general population.
Dr. Andrea Natale’s AFib Work
Dr. Andrea Natale is an expert in Cardiac Electrophysiology, a field that studies and treats electrical abnormalities of the human heart, such as AFib.. In addition to being one of the first to implant the Left Atrial Appendage Closure device, he performed the first percutaneous epicardial radiofrequency ablations in the U.S. for patients who aren’t helped by conventional ablations. A cardiac ablation creates scars in the heart to block abnormal electrical signals and restore a normal heartbeat.
Dr. Andrea Natale also has developed several catheter-based treatments for rhythm disorders and holds several patents. Currently involved in several trials, his research interests include Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology, defibrillation mechanisms, the effects of thrombosis on platelet aggregation, signal-averaging, TxA2 metabolites production in patients with unstable angina and post-myocardial infarction, and ablation treatment of supraventricular arrhythmias.
In addition to being a much sought-after speaker, he has published more than 100 articles in professional journals, and edits the Journal of Investigational Cardiac Electrophysiology. His research has been featured more than 500 times, and academics and researchers have cited his research more than 10,000 times.
Editorial Boards
Dr. Andrea Natale serves as a reviewer or member of the editorial boards of several prestigious medical journals, including the following:
- The American Heart Journal
- The New England Journal of Medicine
- The American Journal of Cardiology
- Journal of the American Heart Association
- The British Medical Journal
- The International Heart Journal
- The International Journal of Cardiology.
Publications on which he serves on editorial boards include:
- World Journal of Cardiology
- The Journal of the American College of Cardiology,
- The Journal of Innovations in Cardiac Rhythm Management,
- The Journal of Interventional Electrophysiology
- The Arrhythmia & Electrophysiology Review
Dr. Natale’s Career
Dr. Natale graduated with honors in 1985 from Universita’ degli Studi di Firenze, School of Medicine and Surgery in Florence. After that, he studied cardiology at the Catholic University School of Cardiology in Rome.
His first career post was as head of the physiopathology section of the Italian Air Force’s Department of Medicine. He then relocated to the United States where he completed a research fellowship at Baylor College’s Methodist Hospital, followed by residencies at the University of Wisconsin and Western Ontario University in Canada.
After completing residencies, he served on the faculty at Duke University, becoming the director of electrophysiology and section head of the Department of Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology. Next, he accepted the position of medical director at Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Atrial Fibrillation, before being named to the Taskforce for Atrial Fibrillation created by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Dr. Natale also served as director of the Arrhythmia Center at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, as well as the executive director of the Al Sabah Arrhythmia Institute at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Medical Center in New York.
In 2008, he moved to the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute (TCAI) in Austin, Texas, where he currently practices medicine. While at TCAI, he has simultaneously served at other universities and institutions, including Stanford, Western Reserve University, and the Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, where he inserted the Left Atrial Appendage Closure device.
Dr. Natale’s Honors
Dr. Natale has received many prestigious medical honors, including:
- Top Doc in Cleveland and Austin
- Best Doc in Northern Ohio
- Best Doc in the United States
- Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology
- Fellow of the American College of Cardiology
- Fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society