Key points from today’s guests:

Mike Krueger, patient, ablation with stereotaxis robot

• She began a second career in public health eight years ago. Now 68, she has made staying active and living heart-healthy a priority.
• When she was feeling exhausted all the time and when her smartwatch alerted her to a heart rate of 32, she got an EKG.
• Mike was experiencing premature ventricular contractions – extra heartbeats were disrupting her hearts’ regular rhythm and her heart was working in overdrive.
• Her doctor, Dr. Seth Sheldon, turned out to be the son of one of her best friends from college. He planned to get her heart back into the right rhythm with a special robotic procedure.
• She is doing great now and reassures people that they shouldn't be afraid of a procedure like this that they’re not familiar with.

Dr. Madhu Reddy, chief of the Division of Cardiac Electrophysiology, The University of Kansas Health System

• The new cardiac robotics lab here at the Health System opened four months ago.
• We were one of the first sites in the Midwest to have a robotics lab in 2008 and we revamped the entire lab. So it's a brand new lab with the latest technology -- probably one of the few sites in the country which has this.
• It involves magnets for complex cases, so everybody has to take off anything metal when you're in there.
• For the complex patients, this lab makes a huge difference. There are some patients where we would not be able to do procedures if not for the robotics.
• As an academic medical center, we participate in research. So while participating in research, we are able to integrate new types of technology.
• We have one of the biggest heart rhythm management program in the Midwest, and we do more procedures than any other organization around here, and we have the cutting edge technology with the latest tools.
• Wearable devices like smart watches have led to earlier detection of rhythms, saving lives.

Dr. Seth Sheldon, electro-physiologist, The University of Kansas Health System; executive vice chancellor, The University of Kansas Medical Center

• During the ablation procedure, our first goal is to find where the abnormal signals are, and then we eradicate those abnormal signals by delivering some kind of an energy -- most commonly we deliver radio frequency energy.
• All it takes it is a small amount of time -- 60 seconds of energy delivery -- and then it takes away the abnormal beat altogether.
• The robotic system helps guide the catheter through the heart, reducing risks of perforation.
• Mike spent much of her life in public health and has been such a tremendous advocate for the health of the people in our region.
• She's used this as an opportunity to educate people and improve their lives.

Friday, Oct. 11 at 8 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. It's been called the mystery disease because it's painful, hard to diagnose, affects fertility, and can lead to cancer. Researchers are learning more about endometriosis. Hear how that knowledge is changing everything for one young woman.

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