A highly advanced
system to diagnose complex heart rhythm irregularities now is available
at University Medical Center, the only place in the state where the technology
is offered.
An estimated 4 million Americans suffer from cardiac arrhythmias, which
are abnormally slow or fast rhythms caused by a disorder in the heart's
normal electrical activity.
With conventional diagnosis methods, an electrophysiologist must continuously
move a catheter around the inside of the heart, touching the walls,
to find the source of the arrhythmia. The method can be inadequate in
cases where the arrhythmia is short in duration or arises from multiple
areas within the heart.
With the new system, called a "non-contact mapping system,"
a catheter with a small balloon covered with 64 electrodes is placed
into a heart chamber and records the electrical signals coming from
the heart walls. The feedback is used to create a real-time three-dimensional
image of the inside of the chamber, showing the strength and movement
of electrical patterns in the heart.
The system is called "non-contact mapping" because the catheter
does not touch any of the walls of the heart.
"This system allows me to simultaneously analyze more than 3,000
points inside the heart chamber. Standard technology typically analyzes
only five to 10 points," says Peter Ott, MD, director of the UMC
Electrophysiology Laboratory.
"The display is similar to a Doppler radar weather map, with moving
electrical currents shown in vivid colors as the arrhythmia travels
through the heart," Dr. Ott explains. "This allows me to track
down the area responsible for the abnormal heart rhythm and identify
the site where catheter ablation can eliminate the abnormal heart rhythm."
With ablation, a small amount of heart tissue is destroyed to eliminate
or block the arrhythmia. Although arrhythmias can be treated with medication
and devices, ablation is the only cure.
EDITORS NOTE: Still images and animations
demonstrating how the system works are available.
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