The Cardiac Electrophysiology Laboratory at Long Island Jewish Medical Center is proud to lead Long Island in bringing important new technologies that improve patient care and patient safety in the field of electrophysiology,including ablations, implantable defibrillators, pacemakers, diagnostic electrophysiology studies, tilt table tests and signal averaged electrocardiograms.

Cryoablation
We are excited about the availability of cryoablation at LIJ. Cryoablation is a new method of treating fast rhythms that makes the ablation procedure safer for the patient.Although relatively safe, radio frequency ablation, the standard technique, carries with it a risk of heart block requiring a permanent pacemaker.However, cryoablation carries a risk of heart block requiring a permanent pacemaker of close to 0%.

Cryoablation permits us to "map" abnormal heart rhythms and freeze small portions of heart muscle, curing patients from debilitating rapid heart beats. The traditional technique for curing rapid heart beats has been to cauterize or "burn" the heart muscle.

While this remains an effective technique, it carries the risk of causing blood clots. In addition, the damage caused by burning is irreversible. Freezing can be performed to -30 degrees Celsius to "stun" the cardiac tissue and test the targeted heart muscle tissue. If the targeted spot is incorrect, the tissue is permitted to warm up and recover. However, if stunning the tissue stops the abnormal heart rhythm, the tissue can be frozen to -70 degrees Celsius, preventing the cell from ever causing an abnormal heart rhythm again.

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Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation
The electrophysiologists at LIJ are also excited about ablation of atrial fibrillation (fast, irregular rhythm which causes shortness of breath and chest discomfort) for potential cure.In the past, difficult to control atrial fibrillation could only be dealt with by inserting a pacemaker and ablating the AV node (causing heart block and rendering the heart dependent on the pacemaker).But now ablation for cure of atrial fibrillation is possible using a catheter procedure in selected patients.

The physicians on the electrophysiology service at LIJ also implant defibrillators and pacemakers, including the most advanced defibrillator and pacemaker (the biventricular device).These devices serve several benefits for the patient including treatment of life threatening fast and slow rhythms, and heart failure.

The physicians at Long Island Jewish Medical Center are committed to spending the time and care required for treating patients with atrial fibrillation, and we are committed to helping develop a curative procedure (ablation) for this extremely common rhythm. Working with other centers across the New York metropolitan area and across the country, we have been able to provide relief from the debilitating symptoms that many patients experience from atrial fibrillation.

Treatment strategies are tailored on an individual patient basis. Some patients respond well to medical therapy, others require invasive procedures to cure their arrhythmia. We pride ourselves in remaining at the leading edge of developing new treatment strategies for this extremely common arrhythmia.

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Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators (ICDs)
Laser extraction of pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) leads is becoming increasingly necessary as more patients receive implantable devices.

The Spectranetics Laser Lead Extraction system, utilized at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, along with the extensive experience of our physicians in performing this complicated procedure, helps allow us to extend a complete array of services to patients requiring implantable devices.

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Our Commitment
Finally, we provide other diagnostic tools, including tilt table tests, which ascertain why a patient might have lost consciousness, and signal averaged ECGs, which ascertain ones susceptibility to sustained fast heart beats. We are committed to advancing the understanding of abnormal heart rhythms and to developing new treatment strategies. To this end, we participate in many research trials; i.e., new medications to replace Coumadin, designed to not only save patients from a cardiac arrest, but also help their hearts beat more effectively.

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