About 200,000 Louisiana residents are living with a heart condition called atrial fibrillation but there is a new treatment available locally to treat irregular heartbeat caused by AFib. The cardiac lab at Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center now possesses exciting new technology used to treat an irregular heart rhythm. Dr. Patrick Welch is a cardiologist who specializes in heart rhythm abnormalities. “It is faster, it’s safer, and it’s more effective and it allows us to offer the procedure to more patients sooner in the disease process,” said Dr. Welch.