(St. Louis) ¾  Des Peres Hospital today announced it is offering electrophysiology (EP) services as part of its heart care program.  Electrophysiology studies are conducted by physician electrophysiologists and “map out” the heart’s electrical activity and electrical pathways to determine the cause and locate the site of a patient’s abnormal heart rhythm (or arrhythmia). 

“We are very pleased to add this new service to our already broad heart program,” said Michele C. Meyer, chief executive officer of Des Peres Hospital.  “This gives our physicians one more tool to use in the diagnosis and treatment of heart patients.”

Why would someone need an EP study when there are other, less invasive, tests like electrocardiograms (ECGs) or stress tests that monitor heart rhythms?  By their very nature, arrhythmias are unpredictable and intermittent, which makes it unlikely that a brief test like an ECG or even longer tests like Holter monitoring will capture an event.  During an EP study, the specialist inserts a catheter with electricity monitoring electrodes into the heart and may provoke arrhythmia to collect data about the flow of electricity during the event.  These results can help locate the specific areas of heart tissue that give rise to the abnormal electrical impulses that cause arrhythmias.  With an EP study, physicians are also able to evaluate the effectiveness of certain medications in controlling the heart rhythm disorder, assess the need for an implantable device or treatment procedure, and predict the risk of a future cardiac event.

“By diagnosing a variety of heart rhythm disorders, an EP study makes it much easier to determine a possible treatment for the patient,” said electrophysiologist Dr. Carey Fredman.

EP studies are sometimes recommended for certain patients with symptoms indicative of heart rhythm disorders such as palpitations (a feeling of skipped heart beats, fluttering or “flip flops”), pounding in the chest, dizziness or feeling light-headed, fainting, shortness of breath, chest discomfort, weakness or fatigue.

Arrhythmias can be caused by many different factors, including coronary artery diseases, electrolyte imbalances in the patient’s blood, changes in the patient’s heart muscle, injury from a heart attack or healing after heart surgery.  Treatment for arrhythmias can include:

·       Lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking, limiting or stopping the intake of caffeine or alcohol and staying away from stimulants in cough and cold medications

·       Taking medications to control the heart rate and “thin” the blood

·       Cardioversion (delivering an electrical shock to the chest wall that synchronizes the heart and allows normal rhythm to restart)

·       Getting a pacemaker, a device that helps to maintain a suitable heart rate

·       Getting an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) a small electronic device which shocks the heart back into a healthy rhythm if it detects an abnormal heartbeat.

·       Having a catheter ablation that delivers high-frequency electrical energy to  “disconnect” the pathway of abnormal rhythm

·       Having heart surgery to correct the heart disease that is causing the arrhythmia

Des Peres Hospital has three interventional cardiac catheterization labs and offers other heart care services such as:

·       angioplasty, stents and rotational arthrectomy

·       pacemaker/defibrillator implants

·       stress testing, echo, transesophageal echo and nuclear studies

·       open heart surgery

Des Peres Hospital is recognized by the American Heart Association as a “Get with the Guidelines” coronary artery disease hospital and participates in the “100,000 Lives” campaign.

Des Peres Hospital, part of Tenet Missouri, is a 167-bed community hospital located at 2345 Dougherty Ferry Road, at the intersection of I-270 and Dougherty Ferry Road.  Des Peres Hospital has been serving the medical and health care needs of St. Louis County for more than 30 years.  The hospital provides quality medical and surgical care through a wide variety of services and programs, including senior care, heart care, orthopedics and emergency care.  HealthGrades, a health care quality ratings company, ranks Des Peres Hospital as number one in Missouri and among the top five percent in the nation for joint replacement surgery, and number one in St. Louis for overall orthopedic services.  Des Peres Hospital is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association’s Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program.  To learn more about Des Peres Hospital, visit www.despereshospital.com.

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