Procedures
Cardiac electrophysiology
Electrophysiology is the study of the heart’s electrical system — why it beats the way it does, and what to do when it stops keeping time. It is the work this center was built around.
What an electrophysiologist does
Every heartbeat begins as an electrical signal that travels along a defined path through the heart muscle. When that signal fires from the wrong place, travels the wrong route, or fails to fire at all, the result is an arrhythmia — a heartbeat that is too fast, too slow, or irregular.
A cardiac electrophysiologist is a cardiologist with additional fellowship training in that electrical system. Where a general cardiologist manages the heart as a pump, an electrophysiologist works on its wiring: locating the tissue responsible for an abnormal rhythm and treating it directly.
Most of that work is done through catheters — thin, flexible tubes advanced to the heart through a vein, usually at the groin. Nothing is opened surgically. Sensing electrodes on the catheters record the heart’s signals from the inside and build a three-dimensional map showing exactly where an arrhythmia begins. Once the source is identified, energy delivered through the same catheter can interrupt it.
Why this can be done as an outpatient
Catheter-based rhythm procedures do not require a surgical incision, general anesthesia in most cases, or an overnight admission for most appropriately selected patients. What they do require is imaging, monitoring, a team that performs them routinely, a written protocol for every stage of the visit, and a clear plan for the uncommon case that needs a hospital.
Heart Health Center has been running that model for years. The selection criteria and peri-procedural protocols behind it are described on the safety and quality page.
Electrophysiology procedures we perform
Atrial Fibrillation Ablation
Catheter treatment that isolates the tissue triggering atrial fibrillation and restores a regular rhythm.
Atrial fibrillation usually begins with abnormal electrical signals firing from the pulmonary veins. During an ablation, thin catheters are guided to the left atrium and used to create a ring of non-conducting tissue around those veins so the signals can no longer reach the rest of the heart. The center performs this with pulsed field ablation — non-thermal energy that targets cardiac tissue selectively rather than heating it — on an outpatient basis, under a defined protocol covering anticoagulation, sedation, imaging, and post-procedure observation.
- Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation
- Persistent atrial fibrillation
- Symptomatic AF despite medication
Atrial Flutter Ablation
Targeted ablation of the circuit in the right atrium that sustains atrial flutter.
Typical atrial flutter is driven by a single, well-mapped circuit travelling around the right atrium. Interrupting that circuit at a defined point stops the arrhythmia and, in most patients, prevents it from returning. It is one of the most predictable ablations in electrophysiology and is well suited to an outpatient setting.
- Atrial flutter
- Palpitations
- Rate-related fatigue
SVT and Other Cardiac Ablations
Ablation of accessory pathways and re-entrant circuits that cause sudden, fast heart rhythms.
Supraventricular tachycardias arise from an extra electrical connection or a small re-entry circuit near the center of the heart. Once mapping identifies the responsible tissue, a short application of energy in that spot is usually curative. Which arrhythmias are appropriate for treatment here depends on the mapping findings and your overall cardiac history.
- SVT
- AVNRT
- Accessory pathway tachycardia
Electrophysiology Studies
A detailed map of the heart's electrical system to pinpoint the source of an arrhythmia.
Catheters with sensing electrodes record the heart's electrical signals from the inside and can safely reproduce an arrhythmia under controlled conditions. Identifying the exact tissue responsible allows your electrophysiologist to target treatment precisely, often with ablation during the same visit.
- Unexplained palpitations
- Suspected arrhythmia
- Pre-ablation mapping
Cardioversion
A brief, controlled shock that resets an irregular heartbeat to a normal rhythm.
Under short-acting sedation, a synchronized electrical pulse is delivered through pads on the chest to interrupt an abnormal rhythm and let the heart's natural pacemaker resume. The procedure itself takes only moments, and patients typically recover within an hour.
- Atrial fibrillation
- Atrial flutter
Questions about your procedure?
Our team will confirm your date, walk you through preparation, and answer questions about insurance, sedation, and recovery.