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The Floating Hospital for Children offers a full complement of pediatric electrophysiology services. We provide comprehensive noninvasive testing for patients with symptoms suggestive of an abnormal heart rhythm, including ECG and echocardiography, Holter monitoring, event recording, and exercise stress testing.
We have the newest, technologically advanced facilities for our more invasive procedures, such as electrophysiology studies and ablations, pacemaker and defibrillator (ICD) implants, and implantable loop recorders.
We also provide knowledgeable counseling for families who have experienced a sudden death, or who have had relatives diagnosed with an inherited arrhythmia. Screening of children with these risk factors is available, along with immediate referral for genetic testing, if necessary.
Arrhythmias result when the heart's electrical system functions abnormally or when there is an extra electrical connection or abnormal electrical focus in the heart, resulting in an abnormally fast heart rate. This can cause symptoms such as palpitations, chest discomfort, dizziness or fainting. The heart's electrical system can be evaluated through an electrophysiology study (EPS). If necessary a radiofrequency ablation may be necessary. This is a safe procedure, performed under anesthesia in most cases, with a high probability of success.
Electrophysiology studies are minimally invasive cardiac catheterization, using state-of-the-art equipment with computerized electrical stimulation and analysis systems. In an EPS, we insert three to five special catheters into your child's veins and guide these catheters into the heart. The tips of each catheter have platinum electrodes that record electrical signals from inside your child's heart as well as pace the heart from different locations.
Using the information we receive from the electrical signals within the heart, we can locate the abnormal area using either traditional 2-D mapping with fluoroscopy, or newer 3-D mapping technologies which are free of radiation. Then, an ablation using radiofrequency (heat energy) or cryothermal (cold energy) catheters can be performed to eradicate the arrhythmia.
We have the tools to evaluate children if he or she has experienced palpitations, unexplained dizziness or fainting (syncope) or if there is a family history of sudden cardiac death. We evaluate children who experience these symptoms with both normal heart structures, and with previously-diagnosed congenital heart disease |