Adventist GlenOaks Hospital has enhanced the treatment capacity of its electrophysiology lab with the installation of a fast and powerful EnSite Velocity mapping and ablation system.

The new EnSite Velocity is the most advanced computer-based technology available for mapping any heart rhythm disorder and navigating electrophysiology catheters in real time. The system offers a mapping and ablation technology that can identify the pattern of an irregular heart rhythm in a single heartbeat – and repair the issue on the spot. These catheters are very small, making implantation less painful and recoveries faster.

Adventist GlenOaks Hospital’s electrophysiology (EP) lab opened in 2009. The EP lab deals with the heart’s “electrical” system, providing evaluation, management and treatment of arrhythmias – heart rate and rhythm disorders that were treated with a lifetime of medication before EP was introduced.

The new EnSite system allows physicians to use real-time, three-dimensional graphic displays of any heart chamber. The system also gives physicians their choice of catheters, or thin, flexible tubes which are inserted into the heart to deliver energy to tiny areas that cause the abnormal heart rhythm. This energy “disconnects” the pathway of the abnormal rhythm and restores a regular heartbeat.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer this cutting-edge product to our physicians,” said Dr. John Beshai, a cardiologist who specializes in electrophysiology. “The EnSite system collects multiple cardiac images at once, as well as the complete geometry of the heart, in high density and 3-D. We can treat heart patients on an outpatient basis, with highly effective but minimally invasive therapies.”

“People with heart rhythm disorders have decreased cardiac output," says Christopher Larsen, RN, arrhythmia coordinator with Adventist Midwest Health. "Many lack the energy to perform even routine tasks. In many cases, they can’t walk from the bedroom to the bathroom. They end up on medication that has a lot of side effects. We have the technology and expertise to map the heart’s electrical pathways and fix those that are abnormal. We can give our patients their lives back.”

Patients treated at Adventist GlenOaks Hospital’s EP lab may also be candidates for devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators, which provide electrical stimulation when the heart beats too slowly, too quickly or not at all. Physicians who treat patients at the lab are board-certified in cardiology, internal medicine and electrophysiology.