A Haifa man who had been struggling with a debilitating heart condition for 40 years has found new hope through an innovative heart radiotherapy procedure at Rambam Health Care Campus. The groundbreaking treatment, administered in a single session, has stopped life-threatening arrhythmias and given the patient a second chance at life.
Nazia Matar, 63, had lived with an increasingly severe heart condition, including regular shocks from his pacemaker. “My pacemaker was shocking me twice a day, and I had lost all hope,” Matar recalled. “But when the doctors at Rambam offered me a chance to try a new heart radiotherapy study, I decided to give it a shot because I felt like I had nothing to lose.”
Matar, who had long been debilitated by heart failure, irregular heartbeat, and the traumatic shocks from his pacemaker, was initially skeptical about the new treatment. However, after undergoing the radiotherapy—performed without anesthesia in a single, concentrated session—he experienced a remarkable improvement. “Last week, I went fishing with my sons. I sat by the sea for the first time in years, and my heart was filled with joy,” he said emotionally.
This innovative treatment, developed by Rambam’s researchers in collaboration with specialists from Germany, involves a high-dose radiotherapy session similar to cancer treatments. It targets the precise area of the heart causing arrhythmias with minimal impact on surrounding tissues. Dr. Tomer Charas, Deputy Director of the Oncology Department and head of innovation at Rambam, emphasized the promising results of this procedure. “The treatment takes only a few minutes, and the effects on surrounding healthy tissues are minimal. It’s a highly targeted, efficient approach.”
A Life Transformed
Matar’s heart issues began in childhood with arthritis, which later led to valve damage. Despite a valve replacement that initially improved his health, his condition gradually worsened, culminating in the need for a pacemaker. “Living with a pacemaker isn’t what people think it is,” Matar explained. “You never know when the next shock will come. It was a constant state of fear and anxiety.”
He described the painful and frightening episodes when his pacemaker would shock him multiple times in a row. “The worst was last April when I was shocked seven times in just a few minutes. The pain was unbearable, and I ended up in the ICU for 12 days,” Matar recalled. Desperate for a solution, he reached a breaking point. “I told the doctor, ‘That’s it. I’m done. I’m going to die today.'”
A Ray of Hope
The heart radiotherapy, the last option after all other treatments failed, brought unexpected relief. “Since the treatment, the pacemaker hasn’t activated even once. I no longer sit and listen to my heart. I feel optimistic, something I thought I’d lost forever,” Matar said, emphasizing the importance of holding on to hope even in the darkest moments.
The radiotherapy procedure is the result of collaborative research by Rambam’s team, including physicist Dr. Igor Borzov and Dr. Oliver Blank from the University of Kiel in Germany. The treatment, which involves advanced mapping and imaging to locate the arrhythmia’s source, has shown promising results in other patients as well.
Dr. Charas described the process: “We use precise technology to plan the radiotherapy, which delivers a single, high-dose radiation session to the exact location of the arrhythmia. This approach has produced promising results with minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissues.”
A Collaborative Effort
Rambam’s heart team, led by Professor Mahmoud Suleiman, noted that Matar’s condition had exhausted all traditional treatment options, including valve replacement and medication. Initially, the team considered an ablation procedure but discovered that the arrhythmia was located outside the heart, making ablation unsuitable. “With no other options left, the innovative radiotherapy offered the only solution,” Suleiman explained.
Prof. Salem Billan, director of Rambam’s Radiotherapy Institute, confirmed the positive outcomes, citing not only Matar’s case but also that of a second patient who had undergone the procedure eight months ago, with similarly positive results.
A New Era of Hope
This radiotherapy procedure is offering new hope for patients suffering from severe arrhythmias who have exhausted other treatment options. “We were amazed by the results,” said Charas. “This breakthrough could change the way we treat heart arrhythmias, particularly for those who cannot benefit from ablation therapy.”
For Matar, the treatment has given him a second chance at life. “If there’s hope, grab it with both hands,” he said.
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