|
Our service exists
to provide heart patients with timely, accurate diagnoses
and therapies. We do this by using advanced technologies and working
as a team with you, your family, and your physician to help you
continue or return to your normal daily activities as soon as
possible.
The Electrophysiology
Service began in the early 1970s with two goals: to provide leading
edge care for patients with irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
and to do research to determine the cause of arrhythmias and develop
treatments for patients who have heart rhythm problems.
As the first such
service in Maryland, and one of the first in the United States,
the Johns Hopkins Electrophysiology Service rapidly took on a
leadership role. An early success was the development and use
of the first automatic implantable defibrillator, also known as
implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs). In 1980, Dr. Levi Watkins
first implanted this device, which was invented by Drs. Michel
Mirowski and Morton Mower, in a patient who had experienced numerous
episodes of life-threatening arrhythmias. Since then, ICDs have
saved hundreds of thousands of lives and are recognized as the
most effective treatment to prevent sudden cardiac death.
Currently, doctors
in the Electrophysiology Service are focusing their efforts on
catheter ablation, a technique that can cure abnormal heart rhythms.
Other areas of clinical and research interest include the causes
and treatment of atrial fibrillation and syncope (fainting), the
prevention and treatment of problems that may cause cardiac death,
as well as further perfecting pacemaker and ICD therapy.
Our staff of physicians,
nurses, and technologists is available to explain the procedures
to you and your family, answer your questions, and guide you as
you go through the diagnostic and treatment processes. Some of
your questions may be answered by the information we have assembled
here for you. But don't hesitate to ask questions; understanding
your care is an important part of recovery.
Sincerely,
Hugh Calkins, M.D.
Professor, Medicine and Pediatrics
Director, Electrophysiology Service
Terms
and Conditions
|
