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Imagine walking into The Heart Center at St. Rita’s with an irregular heart beat or arrhythmia and walking out cured. That is exactly what happened today to patient Laura Ladd, a Licensed Practical Nurse, who is usually taking care of patients at The Heart Center at St. Rita’s.
Laura, who has been a St. Rita’s employee since 1988, was in the right place at the right time, since The Heart Center at St. Rita’s just started doing this procedure. Prior to this, she would have had to go out of town.
A medical team led by Dr. Abdul Wase performs the electrophysiological test that records the electrical activity and measures the electrical pathways of the heart. This is done to recreate a patient’s abnormal heart rhythm and determine the best treatment for the condition.
For some patients, if the source of the arrhythmia can be found, it may be possible to actually cure the arrhythmia, or prevent it from recurring.
Now that may sound like business as usual at a heart center, but it is not. In fact, the most common tests used to determine arrhythmias or abnormal heart rhythms include electrocardiogram or EKG, Holt monitor, event monitor or loop recorder.
These more common procedures may be used to determine if a patient should be referred for electrophysiological testing, where the goal is to recreate the exact symptoms the patient has been experiencing. If the source of the arrhythmia can be located, it might be possible to prevent a recurrence using a radio frequency.
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