Cardiac electrophysiology 1036577 221761384 2008-06-25T23:53:28Z SmackBot 433328 Date the maintenance tags or general fixes {{Merge|Clinical cardiac electrophysiology|date=June 2008}}{{Unreferenced|date=February 2008}} [[Image:EKG complex.png|right|thumb|300px|Drawing of the EKG, with labels of intervals]] '''Cardiac electrophysiology''' is the [[science]] of elucidating, diagnosing, and treating the electrical activities of the [[heart]]. The term is usually used to describe studies of such phenomena by invasive (intracardiac) catheter recording of spontaneous activity as well as of cardiac responses to [[programmed electrical stimulation (PES)]]. These studies are performed to assess complex [[arrhythmias]], elucidate symptoms, evaluate abnormal [[electrocardiograms]], assess risk of developing arrhythmias in the future, and design treatment. These procedures increasingly include therapeutic methods (typically [[radiofrequency ablation]]) in addition to diagnostic and prognostic procedures. Other therapeutic modalities employed in this field include [[antiarrhythmic drug]] therapy and implantation of [[artificial pacemaker|pacemakers]] and [[implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (AICD)]]. The cardiac electrophysiology study (EPS) typically measures the response of the injured or cardiomyopathic myocardium to PES on specific pharmacological regimens in order to assess the likelihood that the regimen will successfully prevent potentially fatal sustained [[ventricular tachycardia (VT)]] or [[ventricular fibrillation (VF)]] in the future. Sometimes a series of EPS drug trials must be conducted to enable the cardiologist to select the one regimen for long-term treatment that best prevents or slows the development of VT or VF following PES. Such studies may also be conducted in the presence of a newly-implanted or newly-replaced cardiac pacemaker or AICD. A specialist in cardiac electrophysiology is known as a cardiac electrophysiologist, or (more commonly) simply an electrophysiologist. Cardiac electrophysiology is considered a subspecialty of [[cardiology]], and in most countries requires two or more years of [[fellowship (medicine)|fellowship]] training beyond a general cardiology fellowship. Cardiac electrophysiologists are trained to perform interventional cardiac electrophysiology studies (EPS) as well as surgical device implantations. Cardiac electrophysiology is a relatively young subdiscipline of cardiology and internal medicine. It was developed during the mid-1970's jointly by [[Mark E. Josephson, M.D.]], of the [[University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine]] in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], now of [[Beth Israel-Deaconess Hospital]] at [[Harvard Medical School]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts]], and [[Hein J. J. Wellens, M.D.]], of the Academic Hospital in [[Maastricht, The Netherlands]]. ==See also== * [[Clinical cardiac electrophysiology]] * [[Electrical conduction system of the heart]] * [[Electrocardiogram]] (ECG) * [[Electrophysiologic study]] ==External links== * [http://www.cardiaceps.org/ Cardiac Electrophysiology Society] * [http://www.ihrs.in/ Indian Heart Rhythm Society] * [http://www.hrsonline.org/ Heart Rhythm Society] * [http://www.ipej.org/ Indian Pacing and Electrophysiology Journal] * [http://www.winterarrhythmia.com/ International Winter Arrhythmia School] [[Category:Cardiology]] [[Category:Cardiac electrophysiology|*]] {{med-stub}} [[es:Electrofisiología cardíaca]]