Research Frontiers

Our research in heart disease and cardiovascular therapy includes:

• Up-to-the-last-minute CT scans for electrophysiology patients. Thanks to advances in imaging technology, electrophysiology patients will be able to undergo computed tomography (CT) scanning right on the table directly before the procedure begins. The electrophysiologists will have up-to-the-minute information. If anything changes during the course of the procedure, a new image is swiftly available.
  
  
• Gene therapy to correct arrhythmias. Mount Sinai Heart bioengineers have devised a new way of studying cardiac "pacemaking" in the lab with a new optical monitoring method. The researchers are beginning to investigate whether manipulating expression of a pacemaker gene will help to develop cardiac pacemaker stem cells. In the future, the stem cells might be transferred into patients to permanently reverse and prevent arrhythmias
  
  
• Cryothermal energy in atrial fibrillation. Mount Sinai Heart is building a dedicated lab to perform cryothermal ablations. This catheter-based approach uses cool energy to speed up the procedure, halving the procedure time for atrial fibrillation ablations. The use of cryothermal energy, applied through a balloon catheter, will allow doctors to ablate the problem area with fewer burns.
  
  
• Molecular research. A major ongoing effort is occurring in the labs of Fadi Akar, PhD, Assistant Professor of Cardiology, and Roger Hajjar, MD, Professor of Cardiology and Director of the Cardiovascular Research Center. Scientists are examining the molecular components of the heart's electrical impulses in order to prevent or manage the arrhythmias that cause sudden death.