HEART RHYTHM CENTER
The Heart Rhythm Center of Fox Valley Cardiovascular Consultants provides excellence in the evaluation and treatment of patients with many different kinds of arrhythmias. We have an ongoing commitment to provide you with technologically advanced and personalized care.
Fox Valley Cardiovascular Consultants’ integrated team of physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals provides a comprehensive approach to diagnosis and treatment of heart rhythm disorders. Such treatments include electrophysiology diagnostic studies, radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation, and implantation and monitoring of pacemakers and defibrillators.
Your heart is a complex organ that is regulated by slight electrical impulses generated by the body. An abnormal heart rhythm is a change in the speed or the regular pattern of how your heart beats.
Cardiac electrophysiology deals with the electrical system of the heart and abnormal heart rhythms. If your heart beats irregularly, too rapidly, or even too slowly, it can cause significant problems.
Electrophysiology offers effective treatments and therapies for heart arrhythmias.
The Beat of Your Heart
Arrhythmias appear as a change in the speed or pattern of your heartbeat and can cause:
• Palpitations (fluttering, skipping or pounding in the chest)
• Chest pressure or pains
• Shortness of breath
• Lightheadedness or dizziness
• Fainting spells
• Fatigue
Many arrhythmias are common and may not require any specific treatment, but certain abnormal heart rhythms, left untreated, can cause death. Even though symptoms may not be readily apparent, it is very important to identify the nature and the cause of any abnormal heart rhythms. If you’ve been diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia, your doctor has probably referred you for an electrophysiology study or procedure as a treatment or therapy for your heart rhythm disorder.
What Services We Offer
Pacemaker Implantation and Monitoring
A pacemaker is a small, battery-powered electronic device that is implanted in the patient’s chest to keep the heart beating at the proper rate. Pacemakers are used when a defect, blockage, or age-induced slowing of electrical impulses causes the heart to heat too slowly or to fail to speed up during activity. This deprives the body of the blood flow it needs. Recently, special pacemak-ers have been developed that improve heart function in patients with congestive heart failure. Patients with pacemakers must be monitored several times a year using a computerized programmer device that can communicate with the pacemaker and adjust its settings as necessary.
Implantable Cardioverter Debfibrillator (ICD)
An ICD is a device, similar to a pacemaker, that is implanted in the chest to monitor and treat episodes of abnormally fast heartbeats (tachycardia) or chaotic, quivering heartbeats (fibrillation). The ICD is programmed to detect the abnormal heartbeats and deliver electrical impulses or a shock to terminate the dangerous rhythm. Like those with pacemakers, patients with ICDs, must be monitored several times a year with a programmer.
Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation
This breakthrough, non-surgical procedure is similar to the electrophysiology study, except that it identifies and then destroys the malfunctioning electrical pathway in the heart. In RF ablation, the electrode on the catheter emits radiofrequency energy (similar to microwave heat) to destroy a small are of heart tissue in the abnormal pathway, preventing any further transmission of the impulses causing the arrhythmia. This treatment is the only permanent cure available for patients with certain types of tachycardia (abnormally fast heartbeat), with a success rate of up to 98%. It also shows increasing promise as a cure for atrial fibrillation (chaotic, quivering heartbeat) and ventricular tachycardia.
Electrophysiology Diagnostic Studies
An electrophysiology diagnostic study (EPS) is a procedure used to observe and analyze electrical activity within the heart. A thin, flexible catheter tube with an electrode on the end is threaded through an vein into the heart, where it both records electrical activity and emits electrical impulses to test the heart’s response. The test helps doctors identify rhythm problems and pinpoint areas of the heart responsible for abnormal heart rates.
A Team Effort
Our staff are more than just clinicians who provide your medical care. We endeavor to make sure that your experience with us is as comfortable as possible.
Our team will provide you with vital information that will help you to understand your arrhythmia, tests you may have, and your treatment. They provide instructions prior to hospital discharge and see you again after ablation or device implantation, if you have one of those treatments.
Follow-Up Programs
For patients with a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), our follow-up programs help assure each patient’s device is doing its job properly. Quick visits allow for staff to check the status of each device and to answer any questions.
Support Services
Living with an arrhythmia may mean you have to make some changes in your lifestyle. To smooth your adjustment to life with an arrhythmia, the Heart Rhythm Center holds periodic support meetings at our offices for patients and their families. These gatherings feature educational presentations and also provide an opportunity to share experiences with other people who have arrhythmias. The meetings are coordinated and led by our physicians, nurses, and support personnel.
Clinical Trials
As part of our commitment to advancing the care of patients with arrhythmias, the Heart Rhythm Center works closely with Fox Valley Clinical Research Center to participate in many clinical trials to assess new treatments that possess the potential to improve each patient’s outcome. For more information or to see if you or your patient is eligible for one of these trials, please contact the Heart Rhythm Center.
BENEFITS OF THE HEART RHYTHM CENTER
• Full-time dedicated staff with extensive experience in electrophysiology
• Advanced technology including 3-D mapping for safer and more precise procedures
• State-of the art Paceart system for consistent and accurate tracking of pacemakers and implanted devices.
• Multiple locations for added patient convenience
• Online access to patient information and device checks
For more information or to schedule your appointment, please call 630.896.0659.