RHYTHM DISORDERS
In the rhythm disorders department, patients suffering from cardiac arrhythmias are examined and treated. These occur in a wide variety of acute and chronic, cardiac and non-cardiac diseases and cause a wide variety of symptoms. Cardiac arrhythmias can also occur in otherwise healthy patients.
Patients undergoing electrophysiological treatment are either referred directly to the Schüchtermann-Klinik for diagnosis and treatment by general practitioners or other hospitals or they are already in our hospital after a heart operation or for follow-up treatment after a heart attack.
The aim of diagnostics is todetect and analyse the cardiac arrhythmia, the underlying disease and its severity. In addition to a medical anamnesis, physical examination and conventional diagnostic procedures, electrophysiological examinationby means of cardiac catheterisation is used here.
Electrophysiological examination
The electrophysiological examination is an examination of the electrical excitation processes of the heart. It is performed with a series of electrical stimulation catheters placed at defined points on the heart. They are used to analyse the heart rhythm, impulse generation and conduction as well as programmed stimulation of the heart to trigger cardiac arrhythmias and to analyse them. For certain cardiac arrhythmias, a treatment called catheter ablation can immediately follow the examination. For special complex cardiac arrhythmias, electrophysiological examination and catheter ablation are performed using three-dimensional techniques. At our facility, we have the CARTO™ system as well as the NavX/Ensite Precision™ system at our disposal.
The aim of treatment is to achieve a therapy that is as causal as possible. So we want to cure or improve the underlying disease and, if possible, initiate a specific therapy. In addition to pharmacological treatment procedures, non-pharmacological procedures or a combination of different procedures are also available.
Combination of different procedures
- External cardioversion for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter
- Implantation of pacemakers for the treatment of bradycardic cardiac arrhythmias
- Implantation of automatic cardioverters and defibrillators (ICD) for documented or imminent
- life-threatening cardiac arrythmias (ventricular fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia)
- Implantation of biventricular pacemakers or defibrillators in severe heart failure for cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT)
- resynchronisation therapy (CRT)
- Catheter ablation with high-frequency current for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias
- Catheter ablation with cryo-energy for “cryotherapy” of cardiac arrhythmias
