Treatments

Cardiac arrhythmia treatment at Mount Sinai Heart takes place in a state-of-the-art facility and caters to patients of all ages. The extraordinary team includes leaders in the field and offers all forms of therapy including catheter ablation, implantable pacemakers, defibrillators and other devices as well as extraction and removal of leads and cardiac rhythm devices. Electrophysiologists at Mount Sinai are experienced in performing complex procedures and have extensive experience caring for and treating patients with both simple and complex rhythm disturbances.

In addition, follow-up treatment and management is provided to patients who come to Mount Sinai from other locations and who have pacemakers or defibrillators already in place.

What is Atrial Fibrillation (AF)?

Mount Sinai Heart is at the forefront of the treatment of all cardiac rhythm problems, including atrial fibrillation (AF). AF is the most common form of abnormal heart rhythm, affecting 2.2 million Americans. Half a million new cases of AF are diagnosed every year. AF may be intermittent (paroxysmal), persistent or chronic. In paroxysmal AF, the abnormal heart rhythm reverts back to normal after a period of minutes or hours. In chronic AF, the abnormal heart rhythm may persist indefinitely.

The normal heart rhythm originates as an electrical signal emanating from the S-A node—a structure located in the right upper chamber, or atrium, of the heart, and travels in an orderly way from the right atrium to the right ventricle (one of two lower, main pumping chambers of the heart.) This creates an efficient, well-organized heartbeat. In AF, a rapid series of electrical signals may arise from outside the S-A node (specifically from the pulmonary vein), and travel in a haphazard way to the ventricles. This leads to a disorganized "fibrillation" of the atria at rates approaching 350 times per minute. The ventricles may also beat faster as a consequence, at rates up to 150 beats per minute. People experiencing AF be asymptomatic or they may feel light-headed, short of breath, tired or weak, and they may feel a 'fluttering' or palpitation of the heart. Although a single episode is rarely immediately life threatening, over time, AF can lead to a number of serious problems. A serious complication associated with chronic AF is a six-fold increase in the risk of stroke. Other associated risks include increased blood clot formation, cardiomyopathy (enlargement and weakening of the heart muscle) and other cardiac rhythm problems. In addition to the significantly increased risk of complications and mortality, the healthcare costs associated with the diagnosis and treatment of AF is approximately $1 billion annually.

The Arrhythmia Service physicians are skilled at performing ablation procedures for atrial fibrillation and Mount Sinai is one of the largest centers performing these procedures. Physicians target the triggers of atrial fibrillation and ablate these triggers as well as other crucial areas in the heart thought to be responsible for atrial fibrillation. Mount Sinai physicians utilize state-of-the-art technology and robotic catheter navigation during these procedures and is one of only several centers nationally with this technology. In addition, Mount Sinai physicians are actively involved in research in novel treatments for atrial fibrillation.