We have updated our Birchmount Hospital phone lines. When you call through the main line (416-495-2400), you will need to add “7” when dialing an extension.

Arrhythmia Management

Arrhythmias are an abnormality of the heart’s electrical system. Tachyarrhythmia’s occur when the heart beats too fast. Bradyarrhythmia’s occur when the heart beats too slowly.

Arrhythmias can be treated and even cured by cardiologists who specialize in arrhythmia management, called cardiac 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, implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), or cardiac resynchronization (CRT) device may be needed. Pacemakers are needed when the heart beats too slowly to meet the needs of the body. ICDs are needed to treat rapid life-threatening heart rates from the lower chambers of the heart (ventricular arrhythmias). CRT devices are specialized devices designed for people with heart failure. These devices are usually implanted in your upper chest, below your collar bone, which is a minor surgical procedure preformed by our arrhythmia team.

Ongoing Follow-up Care

After having a pacemaker, ICD, or CRT implant, we provide you with individualized treatment and follow-up care as part of our outpatient Arrhythmia Clinic. This includes education and regular monitoring of your cardiac device.

An electrophysiology study (EPS) is a test of the electrical system of the heart. An EPS allows your doctor to have a detailed look at the electrical signals in your heart and identify which areas of the heart are causing your arrhythmia. Once identified the arrythmia can then be corrected through a catheter ablation. Depending on your diagnosis, we perform simple or complex ablations to treat cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation, AV re-entrant tachycardia (AVRT), Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) Syndrome, AV node re-entrant tachycardia (AVNRT), and ventricular tachycardia.

Accessing Services

If you are in need of arrhythmia services, a physician referral is required. Your physician may send a referral to our regional cardiac centre, which can be faxed to 416-281-7470, or through or Ocean eReferral portal.

Ocean eReferral

This service now accepts Ocean eReferrals!

For additional information, please email your Ontario Health East Deployment Team at contact@ereferralontarioeast.ca.

Registering for Ocean

SHN, the Scarborough Ontario Health Team (SOHT), and Scarborough Family Physicians Network (SFPN) are working together to support healthcare providers in our community who may be interested in onboarding onto Ocean. Get started by completing the Ontario Health East online form.

Fax referrals