Arrhythmias are conditions that cause your heart to beat abnormally. Electrophysiology specialists at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare can help restore your heart’s rhythm with advanced treatments that may protect your long-term heart health.
An arrhythmia can mean that your heart is beating faster than normal, slower than normal or irregularly. While it’s normal to occasionally feel your heart rhythm change, an arrhythmia that lingers or happens repeatedly may be dangerous.
These abnormal heart rhythms occur when electrical activity in the heart is disrupted. Electrophysiologists can determine the cause of problems with the electrical signals in the heart and treat them.
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At Methodist, you can access a full spectrum of highly specialized cardiovascular care, including electrophysiology. Our team of providers has specific expertise in diagnosing and treating arrhythmias.
Methodist University Hospital and Methodist Le Bonheur Germantown Hospital have earned electrophysiology accreditation from the American College of Cardiology. This means we provide quality care that meets or exceeds national standards.
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has a team of electrophysiologists who diagnose and treat abnormal heart rhythms.
There are many types of arrhythmias, differing in how they affect the heart and their severity. Our team of electrophysiologists are experienced in treating:
Arrhythmias differ in where they originate in the heart and how they affect the heartbeat. However, they disrupt the heart’s normal functioning and limit its ability to pump blood efficiently, which can cause problems throughout the body.
If you develop an arrhythmia, you may notice your heart beating in an unusual way. It may feel like it’s skipping beats or beating faster or slower than normal. Other symptoms of abnormal heart rhythms include:
Because many of these symptoms also occur during a heart attack, it’s essential to seek medical attention if you experience them in case immediate treatment is needed.
While anyone can experience an arrhythmia, they are more common in people with certain risk factors, including:
Having other health conditions, such as heart disease, kidney disease, COPD, sleep apnea, thyroid disease or certain viruses, can also increase the risk of abnormal heart rhythms.
If you are experiencing heart rhythm disruption, an electrophysiologist will perform an electrophysiology (EP) study to uncover the specific type of arrhythmia. This type of diagnostic testing is performed in a specialized EP lab.
To prepare you for an EP study, a nurse provides a mild sedative through an intravenous line in your arm. You will be awake but sedated during the test. You receive a local anesthetic to numb the part of the body where an electrophysiologist will insert a small tube called a catheter.
These catheters are inserted into blood vessels and navigated to the heart, guided by real-time images. Once the catheters are in place, the electrophysiologist sends targeted electrical pulses to the heart, causing it to beat at different speeds.
Data related to this electrical activity, called cardiac mapping, helps the physician locate where the arrhythmia is coming from and the specific type of arrhythmia occurring. In some cases, treatment of an arrhythmia may occur during the EP study or immediately after it.
Following an EP study, you’ll need to lie flat for a period to prevent bleeding from the catheter insertion site. Most people can go home after a few hours of observation.
While there’s no way to prevent arrhythmias entirely, you can lower your risk by practicing healthy lifestyle habits:
If you have other health conditions that increase your risk, work with your medical providers to manage those conditions through medications and other treatment options.
Mild arrhythmias may not require any treatment. In other cases, though, arrhythmias can cause serious health effects, including blood clots, cardiac arrest and low blood pressure.
Treatment for an arrhythmia varies by the specific type of abnormal heart rhythm. You may need a combination of treatment options to treat an arrhythmia effectively. An electrophysiologist will create a personalized treatment plan for your specific needs that may involve one or more of these treatments:
