Heart arrhythmia

We offer an array of advanced heart screening and imaging services to identify and diagnose any heart arrhythmia, abnormality or disease.

Electrophysiology (EP) is the study of the heart's electrical system. EP studies are diagnostic procedures used to identify the source of an irregular heartbeat.

During an EP study, electrical signals are sent through a catheter, triggering your heart to beat at different speeds. By viewing video of your heart's response on a monitor during the procedure, your electrophysiologist is able to trace the origin of the irregular heartbeat. Once the originating location is identified, we can determine the most effective treatment option for you.

Heart arrhythmia symptoms

Because a heart arrhythmia is a disruption in a regular heart rhythm, you may have an arrhythmia if you have slow, irregular or fast heartbeats. They occur when the electrical impulses to the heart stray from their normal sequence and can range from being harmless to life-threatening.

So, although we can screen for and diagnose arrhythmias, it helps if you know what to look for on your own as well. A heart arrhythmia may be present if the heart has:

• Beats coming from an abnormal area of the heart
• Extra beats
• Fast beats
• Skipped beats
• Slow beats
• Unsynchronized beats

A cardiac ablation is a treatment option used to eliminate cardiac arrhythmias, such as AFib, atrial flutter, ventricular tachycardia and a variety of supraventricular arrhythmias.

During an ablation procedure, the source of the arrhythmia is pinpointed and destroyed to restore normal heart rhythms.

Our expertly trained electrophysiologist uses both radiofrequency (RF) ablation and cryoablation (freezing) techniques. We will discuss all treatment options with you, and we will recommend the best one for you depending on your condition.

Pacemakers are a type of implantable device used to maintain a regular heart rate. A pacemaker works by sending a small electrical impulse to the heart muscle. Your physician will recommend the best type of pacemaker to fit your cardiac needs.

Once implanted, your physician will set the heart rate parameters of the pacemaker. If your natural heart rate drops below this rate, the pacemaker will generate a small electrical impulse, causing your heart rate to increase.

Typically, the recovery period after pacemaker implantation is short. However, your cardiologist will check your pacemaker at regular intervals to ensure it is functioning properly.

Leadless pacemakers

We are pleased to be one of a limited number of facilities that offer a "leadless" pacemaker, which is intended for high-risk patients. The leadless pacemaker is inserted under the skin using a minimally invasive approach.

An automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (AICD) is another type of implantable device. Unlike a pacemaker, the AICD continually monitors your heart rhythm. Once your AICD detects a rapid, life-threatening heart rhythm — such as ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation — it delivers a high-energy “shock” to the heart muscle to restore normal rhythm.

Your physician will determine which type of AICD is best for you. Once implanted, we will check your AICD at regular intervals to ensure it is functioning properly.

Except for leadless pacemakers, all pacemakers and AICDs have leads (little wires between the device and your heart). These are placed during the device implantation, and it is through these leads that the energy is delivered to control the heart’s rhythm.

Occasionally, the leads may need to be removed due to lead fracture, scar tissue, infection or other issues. If this happens, we offer fast, effective procedures to help.

We offer an innovative procedure for patients with AFib who are at high risk for bleeding events. The LAA closure device is implanted into the appendage through a specialized catheter. This procedure is used to reduce the risk of stroke and bleeding events.