Conditions We Treat

Electrophysiology Conditions

The state-of-the-art Electrophysiology Laboratories at North Shore-LIJ's Cardiac Services provide the latest advances in electrophysiology technology to diagnose, treat and manage a wide spectrum of heart conditions,including:

Arrhythmia/Irregular Heart Beat
An irregular heartbeat is an arrhythmia. A normal heart rate is 50 to 100 beats per minute. Arrhythmias and abnormal heart rates don't necessarily occur together. Arrhythmia symptoms can occur with a normal heart rate, or with heart rates that are slow (less than 50 beats per minute). Arrhythmia symptoms can also occur with rapid heart rates (more than 100 beats per minute).

Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation is a very common irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia that causes the atria, the upper chambers of the heart, to contract abnormally.

Atrial Flutter
This is an arrhythmia caused by one or more rapid circuits in the atrium. Atrial flutter is usually more organized and regular than atrial fibrillation.

Atrial Tachycardia
This is one of several heart problems that can cause heart arrhythmia. An abnormal cardiac rhythm causes atria ltachy cardia and occurs when the electrical impulses that regulate the heartbeat originate in the wrong area of the heart.

Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia (PAT)
The heart beats too fast, because there is an abnormality in the conduction system (electrical system) of the heart. Episodes of paroxysmal atrial tachycardia can be brief and, sometimes, they can last for hours and be very serious.

Premature Atrial Contractions (PAC)
These are contractions in the atria of the heart that occur too early in the rhythm sequence. Abnormal electrical impulses signal the atria to beat prematurely. Premature atrial contractions (PAC) are very common and can happen in a healthy patient.

Sick Sinus Syndrome
Not a specific disease, sick sinus syndrome (SSS) is a group of signs or symptoms that indicate the sinoatrial node (the heart's natural pacemaker) is not functioning properly.Some patients with sick sinus syndrome also have rapid heartbeats, or the heartbeat alternates between too fast and too slow.

Sinus Tachycardia
This type of arrhythmia has an elevated rate of impulses that originates from the sinoatrial node, the heart's natural pacemaker. Symptoms of sinus tachy cardia are defined as a heart rate greater than 100 beats per minute in an average adult.

Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT)
This means that from time to time your heart beats very fast for a reason other than exercise, high fever, or stress. During an episode, the heart's electrical system doesn't work properly and causes the heart to beat very fast. Types of SVT include

  • Atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) – the most common type of supraventricular tachycardia
  • Atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia (AVRT) – occurs when there is an extra electrical pathway linking the upper (atria) and lower (ventricle) chambers of the heart.
  • Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome – In this congenital form of supraventricular tachycardia, an extra electrical pathway of  Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome is present at birth.

Ventrical Arrhythmia
This condition involves abnormal rapid heart rhythms (arrhythmias) that originate in the lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles). Ventricular arrhythmias include ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF). Both are life-threatening arrhythmias, most commonly associated with heart attacks or scarring of the heart muscle from previous heart attacks.

Ventricular Tachycardia (VT)
The symptoms of ventricular tachycardia are a fast heart rhythm that originates in the lower part of the heart (ventricles). If left untreated, some forms of ventricular tachycardia may get worse and lead to ventricular fibrillation, a condition that can be life-threatening.

Ventricular Fibrillation (VF)
This occurs when there is uncoordinated contraction of the cardiac muscle of the ventricles (the lower heart chambers) that makes them quiver rather than contract properly. This activity is not felt by the patient.

Premature Supraventricular Contractions
These are premature contractions originating from the ventricles, the lower heart chambers. Premature ventricular contractions are premature because they occur before the regular heartbeat.

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