It can feel scary when your heart skips a beat — or you feel a flutter. Irregular heartbeat conditions, also called cardiac arrhythmias, can give you a pulse that’s too fast, too slow or just out of rhythm.

If your heartbeat feels off beat, Baptist Health has cardiac arrhythmia services to help you. Our expert team of cardiac electrophysiologists and specially trained staff are the regional leaders in irregular heartbeat treatment. We’ll work with you to find the personalized arrhythmia treatment for your exact diagnosis.

We look forward to giving you the comprehensive, compassionate care you need to get your heartbeat back on track.

Our Approach to Irregular Heartbeat Treatment

Our Approach to Irregular Heartbeat Treatment

If you need arrhythmia treatment, you may feel unsteady. That’s why we use a whole-body approach to diagnose your condition and find the right therapy.

For your safety, our tests and treatments rely on as little radiation as possible. We use leading-edge diagnostic heart testing equipment, including Holter monitors and remote-controlled implanted loop recorders, to detect any arrhythmia. And a cardiac ultrasound — 3D imaging of your heart — lets us examine your heart from several angles.

After comprehensive testing, our electrophysiologists work closely with nutritionists, sleep specialists and other experts to create an individualized care management plan designed specifically for you.

Types of Cardiac Arrhythmia

You may have an arrhythmia if you experience these symptoms:

  • Chest discomfort
  • Dizziness or lightheadedness
  • Fainting
  • Heart palpitations
  • Shortness of breath
  • Weakness or fatigue

Our team provides cardiac arrhythmia services to treat a variety of irregular heartbeat conditions, including:

Diagnosing Cardiac Arrhythmia

Our cardiac arrhythmia specialists use state-of-the-art technology to evaluate and diagnose your abnormal heart rhythm. We use an electrophysiology (EP) study to examine your heart’s electrical system.

For this study, one of our specialists makes small cuts (incisions) in your groin or neck and uses live X-ray imaging (fluoroscopy) to thread small, thin wire electrodes through your vein to your heart. Once the electrodes are in place, they send electrical signals to your heart to record the heart’s electrical activity, potentially leading them to the cause of your problem.

We can also diagnose your irregular heartbeat with these noninvasive tests:

Electrocardiogram: This quick test uses sensors attached to sticky patches on your chest to measure your heart’s electrical activity.

Tilt table testing: This test measures how your blood pressure and heart rate respond to gravity as you lie on a table that slowly tilts upward. We will conduct this test if you experience frequent dizziness or fainting.

"Having a group of medical professionals who can provide a multi-level approach to heart care ultimately allows our team to find the most optimal treatment plan for any individual patient."

Cardiac Ablation

During this nonsurgical procedure, our specialist guides a flexible tube (a catheter) from a vein in your groin to your heart. They place the catheter into the area of the heart causing the irregular heartbeat and use heat (radiofrequency) or cold energy (cryoablation) to destroy it. We offer these types of cardiac ablation:

  • Ablation arrhythmogenic focus
  • Atrial fibrillation Ablation

Cardiac Mapping

This study is typically performed as part of an EP study. It maps your heart’s electrical activity to help our specialists identify the cause of your irregular heartbeat.

Cardioversion

For this procedure, our specialists place soft electrode pads on your chest and send a programmed high-energy shock to your heart to reset a normal rhythm. This technique is performed under anesthesia.

Implantable Defibrillator

Our cardiac electrophysiologists implant this small electronic device — the size of a stopwatch — under your skin and connect it to your heart with wires. This machine sends controlled impulse bursts or a brief shock to restore your heart’s rhythm.

Implantable Loop Recorder Placement

This small, implanted device records your heart’s electrical activity when it climbs or drops outside of a specific range. You can also press a button to activate it when you feel symptoms like skipped heartbeats, lightheadedness, or dizziness.

Maze Procedure

This surgery treats atrial fibrillation. Your surgeon will make several small cuts in the upper chambers of your heart (atrium) and sew them back together. Your heart’s electrical signals can’t cross the cut areas, so your heart stops sending the abnormal signals that cause atrial fibrillation.

Pacemaker

This small, implanted device uses electrical signals to regulate your heart rate, so blood continues to pump through your body. Pacemakers have three parts — a pulse generator, one or more leads and an electrode for each lead — and it sends a signal whenever your heartbeat drops too low or becomes irregular.

Wearable Defibrillator

Our cardiac electrophysiologists will recommend a wearable defibrillator if you’re at risk for sudden cardiac arrest. You wear it outside your body until we can perform an implantable defibrillator procedure.

Meet Our Cardiac Arrhythmia Specialists

Our team of highly trained arrhythmia specialists provides a full range of cardiac arrhythmia services. They are dedicated to determining the cause of your irregular heartbeat as quickly as possible. Learn more about our experts:

Cardiac Arrhythmia Clinical Trials

Our Baptist Health Heart & Vascular physicians are clinical research leaders searching for ways to improve irregular heartbeat treatments. We are committed to developing novel therapies that will give patients like you a steady heartbeat. If you’re interested in learning more about our research efforts or being a partner in our investigations, view our list of ongoing studies.

Our Locations

We provide cardiac arrhythmia services in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties. Find a location near you.

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