| The electrophysiology lab provides state-of-the-art biplane fluoroscopy equipment that facilitates complex catheter ablation procedures and reduces the amount of X-ray exposure which patients receive. The doctor routinely checks in with the patient before the procedure to answer any questions. |
The Johns Hopkins Electrophysiology Service exists to provide heart patients with timely, accurate diagnoses and therapies. They do this by using advanced technologies and working as a team with you, your family, and your physician to help you continue or return to your normal daily activities as soon as possible. The Electrophysiology Service began in the early 1970s with two goals: to provide leading edge care for patients with irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias) and to do research to determine the cause of arrhythmias and develop treatments for patients who have heart rhythm problems. As the first such service in Maryland, and one of the first in the United States, the Johns Hopkins Electrophysiology Service rapidly took on a leadership role. An early success was the development and use of the first automatic implantable defibrillator, also known as implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs). In 1980, Dr. Levi Watkins first implanted this device, which was invented by Drs. Michel Mirowski and Morton Mower, in a patient who had experienced numerous episodes of life-threatening arrhythmias. Since then, ICDs have saved hundreds of thousands of lives and are recognized as the most effective treatment to prevent sudden cardiac death. Currently, doctors in the Electrophysiology Service are focusing their efforts on catheter ablation, a technique that can cure abnormal heart rhythms. Other areas of clinical and research interest include the causes and treatment of atrial fibrillation and syncope (fainting), the prevention and treatment of problems that may cause cardiac death, as well as further perfecting pacemaker and ICD therapy.
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