Electrophysiology procedures

• Pacemaker implantation: surgical insertion of a small electrical device that sends electrical signals to the heart muscle, restoring normal cardiac rate and rhythm. Additionally, pacemakers are used to treat patients who suffer from chronotropic incompetence, a condition in which the patient has the symptoms of heart failure either at rest or during activity because of inappropriately slow heart rates. 
• Cardiac resynchronization therapy (biventricular pacing): implantation of a specialized pacemaker that resets the timing of contractions of the left and right ventricles, improving heart’s pumping efficiency.
• Cardioverter defibrillator implantation: surgical insertion of a small electrical device that monitors the heart’s rhythm and quickly identifies dangerous and potentially life-threatening arrhythmias, which are immediately terminated by an electrical shock. A defibrillator is sometimes combined with a biventricular pacemaker in patients with severe heart failure. 
• Radiofrequency ablation: a procedure that involves the identification and mapping of abnormal areas of electrical activity that are responsible for arrhythmias (abnormal, less efficient, and potentially dangerous heart rhythms). This is followed by application of radiofrequency heat to these areas, via a special catheter, either in the catheterization laboratory, or at the time of open heart surgery, eliminating the stimulus for the arrhythmia.
• Ablation of atrial fibrillation: a specific application for radiofrequency ablation for patients with either short-term or long-lasting atrial fibrillation, a type of abnormal heart rhythm.

More information on electrophysiology procedures