Arrhythmias

Your multidisciplinary team at the UK Gill Heart & Vascular Institute is ready to care for all types of abnormal heart rhythms. Some types of arrhythmias we treat include:

• Atrial fibrillation
• Atrial flutter
• Brugada syndrome
• Bradycardia
• Congenital heart diseases with arrhythmia 
• Heart block
• Long QT syndrome
• Premature ventricular contractions
• Sick sinus syndrome
• Sinus tachycardia
• Supraventricular tachycardia
• Tachycardia
• Ventricular fibrillation
• Ventricular tachycardia
• Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

Most patients come to the program unsure of the type of abnormal heart rhythm they have. To diagnose the problem, the Adult Heart Rhythm Program team prescribes one or more tests, such as:

• Echocardiogram (echo): An echo is a type of ultrasound that shows the function and structure of your heart. It can also detect blood clots.
• Electrophysiology study: During this test, a cardiologist uses catheters to send electrodes to the heart to gauge its electrical activity or stimulate an arrhythmia to uncover its origin. 
• Exercise stress test: For this test, you will walk on a treadmill or ride a stationary bicycle while connected to heart-monitoring equipment. The test shows how well your heart functions during physical activity, including whether blood flow to the heart is reduced with exertion.
• Monitor: A patch monitor is a battery-operated ECG that sticks to your chest. While wearing the patch monitor, you can do nearly all your usual activities, even showering. The test usually lasts for one to two weeks.

The UK Gill Heart & Vascular Institute’s Adult Heart Rhythm Program is home to a team of experienced and compassionate providers. They offer leading-edge care to help you regain a proper heart rhythm.

Standard treatment options they offer for heart rhythm disorders include:

• Cardiac defibrillator implant: An implanted device detects abnormal rhythms and shocks your heart back to normal rhythm.
• Catheter ablation: This noninvasive surgical procedure uses thin wires that deliver energy to destroy the area of heart tissue causing the arrhythmia.
• Ventricular tachycardia (VT) ablation: If your heart beats too quickly due to ventricular tachycardia, this procedure uses cold or heat energy to create tiny scars to restore your heart to a regular rhythm.
• Maze procedure: During the maze procedure, the surgeon makes tiny cuts in the atria to create scar tissue, interrupting electrical signals that cause atrial fibrillation. Surgeons may perform a hybrid procedure that combines the maze method and catheter ablation for long-standing atrial fibrillation.
• Medication: Special medication can be useful whether your heart beats too slowly or too quickly. Medication often serves as the initial treatment to help restore a normal rhythm.
• Pacemaker implantation: In this procedure, the electrophysiologist places a small, battery-operated device called a pacemaker under the skin, usually near the collarbone. The pacemaker helps regulate your heart rate and rhythm. UK specializes in conduction system pacing, which activates the ventricle through the heart’s own electrical system to provide the most efficient ventricular activation. 
• Leadless pacemaker implant: Traditional pacemakers use wires to connect the pulse generator to electrodes that keep the heart in rhythm. A leadless pacemaker contains the generator and electrodes in a single device. There are no wires, and the procedure is less invasive than traditional pacemaker implantation.
• Device extraction: A specialist removes an implanted pacemaker or defibrillator for repair or replacement. This may be necessary if the device causes infection or the wires become damaged.
• Stereotactic arrhythmia radiotherapy (STAR): High doses of radiation destroy the source of the abnormal heart rhythm. Specialists at the UK Gill Heart & Vascular Institute were some of the first in the country to provide this advanced procedure.
• Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT): This noninvasive therapy is used to manage ventricular tachycardia by precisely delivering radiation to targeted tissue.

While procedures take place at the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital, many arrhythmia services are offered in our cardiology clinic at Gill and in our outreach clinics located throughout Kentucky.

To ensure you get the best possible care, our team continually looks to improve our services. We also work to improve arrhythmia care for people across the country and the world. Our clinical trials research new treatment options, including devices that may work better than current pacemakers or defibrillators.

Thanks in part to our Adult Heart Rhythm Program and many other services, U.S. News & World Report considers UK Albert B. Chandler Hospital to be the No. 1 hospital in Kentucky.