Fifteen years ago, Robert Brown experienced a mysterious cardiac event after a workout. Despite several tests, doctors could not determine the cause and sent him home without answers. On New Year's Eve in 2021, Brown faced another episode with a heart rate of 240 beats per minute. He was treated for ventricular tachycardia at an emergency room in College Station, Texas.
Doctors referred him to Dr. Ramesh Hariharan at UTHealth Houston, who identified a rare issue involving inflammation of the aorta wall and scarring in Brown's heart. After initial treatment through catheter ablation and medication, Brown remained stable for two years until complications arose from his medication.
Dr. Hariharan collaborated with Dr. Alejandro Vidal Margenat and Dr. Sunil Krishnan to explore unconventional treatments for Brown's condition. They considered using radiation therapy, typically used for cancer treatment, as an innovative approach to address his arrhythmia.
“Radiation therapy is primarily used to treat cancer cells in the body," said Krishnan. "The principles of targeting are the same, but the target is different."
In January 2024, Brown underwent this non-invasive procedure in Houston and reported no pain or recovery time needed afterward.
Since then, this experimental procedure has been applied to 12 more patients with promising early results.
“This opens the door to treat patients that would not be candidates because they are too sick or because they have other conditions,” Vidal noted.
Brown has been free from arrhythmia for over a year and plans to travel again after being unable to leave due to health concerns.
