Heart arrhythmia

Early detection is critical to ensure arrhythmias are treated before serious complications such as stroke or heart failure can occur. We offer many tests and diagnostic procedures to detect arrhythmia, including:

• Heart screening and imaging — We provide advanced technology to get a comprehensive look at your heart and veins, including electrocardiograms (EKGs or ECGs), echocardiograms (ECHO) and transesophageal echocardiograms (TEEs).
• Holter monitoring — This portable electrocardiogram (ECG) records your heart's rhythms for 24 to 48 hours during normal, waking activities.
• Electrophysiology (EP) studies — An EP study is a minimally invasive diagnostic procedure used to study electrical signals in the heart. Our expertise includes cardiac mapping with an electrode vest, creating a detailed 3D map of the heart's electrical activity to help doctors more precisely target areas that need surgery.
• Tilt-table test — This test shows how your heart rate and blood pressure respond to gravity while lying on a table at different angles.

Whether the result of a congenital abnormality or a condition such as coronary artery disease, electrolyte imbalance, or high blood pressure, we want to help you move forward with a regularly beating heart. An arrhythmia can occur without a known cause in an otherwise healthy heart, so we use a variety of treatments to help you overcome your condition. Some of our treatments for irregular heartbeat include:

Antiarrhythmic medications

We use several different types of medications to combat arrhythmias. Antiarrhythmics work to directly prevent arrhythmia, while anticoagulants reduce the risk of blood clots.

Catheter ablation

We perform cryoablation and radiofrequency ablation. Cryoablation ablation uses extreme cold temperatures to safely destroy heart tissue causing an irregular heartbeat, while radiofrequency uses heat. We also offer pulsed field ablation for qualifying patients. This new technique uses short bursts of high-frequency electricity rather than extreme temperatures to remove specific heart cells, offering more precision and less risks than traditional ablation.

Our electrophysiologists perform these minimally invasive procedures through tubes called catheters in our state-of-the-art electrophysiology labs.

Implantable cardiac devices

For arrhythmias that can't be treated with medicine or ablation, an implantable heart device may be needed to correct your irregular heartbeat. Our specialists are highly experienced in implanting cardiac devices and offer regular monitoring and support to ensure the device is working optimally.  We offer:

• Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD)
• Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) device
• Pacemakers

Surgical intervention

If your heart arrhythmia does not improve with any of the above treatments, you may require heart surgery such as a convergent procedure. Also known as a maze procedure, this collaborative treatment combines heart surgery with radiofrequency ablation to treat persistent AFib.