Arrhythmia is caused by electrical short circuits in the heart that cause it to beat irregularly — too fast or too slowly.
Arrhythmias can be treated and even cured by specialized cardiologists, called electrophysiologists (EPs). The arrhythmia management program at SHN is an advanced cardiac service in the Scarborough-West Durham region.
Services and Procedures
If you have a serious arrhythmia condition, a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) may be needed. These devices are implanted in your chest or abdomen, which is a minor surgical procedure performed by our arrhythmia team.
Who’s It For?
An pacemaker or ICD may be recommended for people who have:
- Brady-arrythmias (slow heart rhythms)
- Syncope (unexplained fainting spells), heart failure and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- Prior episode of sudden cardiac arrest
- Prior episode of ventricular fibrillation
- At least one episode of ventricular tachycardia
- A prior heart attack and have an increased risk for sudden cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death
Ongoing Follow-up Care
After having a pacemaker or ICD implant, we provide you with ongoing follow-up care. This includes education and monitoring of your device and condition.
After your procedure you may be referred to SHN’s cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention program to support your recovery and rehabilitation journey
SHN offers electrophysiology studies (EPS) to identify which areas of the heart are causing your arrhythmia, then correct the arrhythmia through a catheter ablation. In this procedure, we cauterize or burn the heart cells that are causing the abnormal heart beat. Depending on your diagnosis, we perform simple or complex ablations to treat atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation, and ventricular tachycardia.
Who’s It For?
An EP study or an ablation is required for people who have:
- An AV nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT), an extra electrical pathway in their AV node that causes impulses to go back to areas they already passed through
- Atrial fibrillation (rapid beating of the atria) or atrial flutter (quivering of the atria)
- Ventricular tachycardia, a rapid and life-threatening heart rhythm caused by impulses in the ventricles
After your procedure you may be referred to SHN’s cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention program to support your recovery and rehabilitation journey
Accessing Services
If you need of arrhythmia services, your physician may send a referral to our regional cardiac centre, which can be faxed to 416-281-7470.
For questions or more information, please call 416-281-7408.