Electrophysiology is the cardiology speciality that diagnoses and treats heart arrhythmias.
An arrhythmia is any deviation from or disturbance of the heart's normal rhythm. Arrhythmias may be harmless or serious and even life threatening. The consequence of an arrhythmia depends primarily on the structural condition of the heart and the presence of heart disease.
At Emory, cardiology specialists called electrophysiologists use the most advanced technology to detect, diagnose and treat arrhythmias. Today, many arrhythmias can be completely cured through a minimally invasive procedure called cardiac ablation. Others are treated and controlled by medication, pacemakers and/or surgical procedures.
From 2001 to 2005, total electrophysiology (EP) procedures at Emory hospitals have more than doubled.
EP studies and catheter ablation procedures increased from 1,075 in 2001 to 2,146 in 2005.
ICD implantations increased by nearly 300 percent, while pacemaker implantations increased by approximately 30 percent. From 2003 to 2005, no in-hospital deaths occurred for patients receiving these devices.
Emory's team of electrophysiologists ranks among the world's leaders in cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Approximately 75 percent of Emory patients demonstrate significant improvement in quality of life, exercise tolerance and heart function with CRT.
This video features a woman whose life revolved around scuba diving. But her diving was halted when she developed an irregular heart rhythm. Now, she's back in the water — thanks to a procedure that's left her symptom free...
Click on the video above to play. Video requires the Adobe Flash Player.
