Florida Hospital Heartland | Living Well | Winter 2018

living well Electrophysiology & rhythm change In music, composers sometimes use sudden shifts in rhythm to hold the listener’s attention. But sudden changes in the heart’s rhythm can be even more dramatic—acting as warning signs for potentially serious health problems. Treating the problem The Heart & Vascular Center Electrophysiology Program provides highly specialized diagnostic studies and therapies for patients with complex rhythm disorders. A highly trained subspecialty cardiologist (electrophysiologist) and a dedicated team of nurses and technologists perform catheter-based procedures, including mapping and ablation and implantation of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and automatic implantable cardiac defibrillators (AICDs). You’ll want to discuss your treatment options with your doctor. No matter what, be sure to get medical help soon for AFIB (atrial fibrillation). The longer you leave the condition untreated, the greater your risk for stroke. You can’t always know when you’ll need heart care. That’s why Florida Hospital has experienced, board- certified interventional cardiologists available every day—around the clock. The Heart & Vascular Center includes three ultra modern cardiovascular laboratories. Each room has full imaging capabilities to allow our physicians to perform nonsurgical complex heart and vascular procedures, including: ● ● Coronary intervention: angioplasty, stenting, rotablator, fractional flow reserve, intravascular ultrasound, laser and left ventricular assist device ● ● Vascular therapy: angioplasty, stenting, atherectomy, laser, intravascular ultrasound and stent graft therapy for aneurysmal disease ● ● Electrophysiology: temporary and permanent pacemaker therapy, ablation, and implantation of automatic implantable defibrillator Our skilled interventional cardiologists perform complex coronary interventional procedures in patients at high risk for coronary bypass surgery. With technology like the Impella device (a percutaneous heart-assist device that improves safety and outcomes) and imaging with IntraVascular UltraSound (IVUS) our physicians can improve patient outcomes. Call 888-991-7624 or visit YourHealth Specialist.org . At risk for AFIB? Atrial fibrillation (AFIB) is often caused by damage to the heart’s electrical system—whichmay result fromhigh blood pressure or heart disease. The condition is more common with age, and men are more likely than women to have it. Other risk factors include: ●  ● Recent heart surgery ●  ● Chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes and hyperthyroidism ●  ● Obesity ●  ● Sleep apnea ●  ● Caffeine use Sources: American Heart Association; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute I N T E R V E N T I O N A L C A R D I O L O G Y State-of-the-art CARDIAC CARE Phillip Jones, MD Joseph Massaro, DO Thomas Shimshak, MD Daniel Friedman, MD