MONTEFIORE EINSTEIN HEART CENTER
Image of a heart; Siemens pres picture

From time to time, your heart may flutter or skip a beat when you’re excited, nervous or exercising hard. If it goes away as quickly as it came about, it might not seem like a cause for concern. But for those with a sustained irregular heartbeat, called arrhythmia, these sensations may indicate serious heart risks. It’s a good idea to know when that fleeting flutter may be putting your health at risk.

At the Montefiore-Einstein Heart Center, heart rhythm specialists use the latest 3-D electrophysiology technologies to diagnose and treat patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and other atrial (heart) arrhythmias. AF—one of the most common types of arrhythmias—occurs when faulty electrical impulses start in the upper chambers of the heart and cause fast and irregular heartbeats in the lower chambers.

“These imaging systems have transformed the way we diagnose and treat certain atrial arrhythmias and have become a crucial part of complex catheter ablation procedures,” says Andrew Krumerman, MD, cardiac electrophysiologist at the Montefiore-Einstein Heart Center and assistant professor of Cardiology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

REAL-TIME IMAGES ARE MORE ACCURATE

One of the Heart Center’s latest technologies combines 3-D maps of the heart’s electrical system with real-time ultrasound images of the key heart structures. The merging of these two capabilities means that doctors don’t have to rely on computed tomography scans taken several days prior to the procedure to view the heart structures.

“This system is a safer, more accurate way of mapping the heart,” says John Fisher, MD, cardiac electrophysiologist at the Montefiore-Einstein Heart Center and professor of Cardiology at Albert Einstein. “It allows us to be more precise in locating and ablating lesions that cause the arrhythmias and reduces the risk for complications in the pulmonary vein—a common site of arrhythmia.”

FASTER TECHNOLOGY HELPS UNSTABLE PATIENTS

Another 3-D system creates real-time virtual maps of the electrical activity of the heart and clearly shows the multiple catheters doctors use during the ablation procedures. This technology maps the electric activity quickly—often within a single heartbeat—which is important in unstable patients. It also reduces radiation exposure to patients.

An irregular heartbeat is often harmless and needs no treatment. But sometimes, it signals a larger problem that can be too dangerous to ignore. If your heart skips a beat, a proper evaluation at the Montefiore-Einstein Heart Center can mean peace of mind, and even save your life.

Searching for New and Better Arrhythmia Therapies

Specialists at the Montefiore-Einstein Heart Center not only offer a full array of diagnostic and treatment services for patients who have arrhythmias, they are also involved in investigating new and better arrhythmia treatments.

The Heart Center is one of only 25 centers in the United States involved in a Food and Drug Administration-approved study called the Sustained Treatment of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation or STOP AF trial. As part of this study, Montefiore researchers are evaluating the effectiveness of a new and larger cryoballoon catheter to treat intermittent atrial fibrillation.

“We believe the new catheter will be a safer, faster and more effective way to treat this condition and will reduce the need for additional procedures in some patients,” says Andrew Krumerman, MD, cardiac electrophysiologist at Montefiore-Einstein Heart Center and assistant professor of Cardiology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.