FREMANTLE HOSPITAL & HEALTH SERVICE
Department of Cardiology - Testing Unit
Patient Information
Electro
Physiology (EP)
Studies
EP Study
The heart is a muscular pump which is dependent on
electrical signals to tell the muscles to contract. Normally, electricity flows through
the heart in an organised fashion.
A problem anywhere along the electrical pathway
causes an arrhythmia, or heart rhythm
disturbance, this can make your heart beat too quickly; too slowly or erratically,
sometimes interfering the pumping action of the heart. An EP study is an accurate method for assessing the
heart’s electrical function. It allows Doctors to locate abnormal sites within the
heart that may be causing the arrhythmia and provides accurate and detailed information of
the heart’s electrical function in addition to other diagnostic tests.
Doctors also have the option of treating patients
with a non surgical procedure called Catheter
Ablation this permanently deactivates the cells that are causing these problems.
This takes place in a special room known as a
Cardiac Catheter Theatre or EP Lab.
The
Electrophysiology Laboratory at 
This is based in level 5 F block. The equipment
in the EP theatre consists of an X-ray table, a large C shaped X-ray camera and a boom
with many heart monitors and televisions on it. The EP team consists of a Cardiologist,
the assistant, nurses, cardiac technicians and imaging specialists.
The procedure is performed in a sterile
environment to prevent infection therefore with all personnel wearing sterile gowns,
gloves and occasionally masks.
At the beginning of the procedure local
anaesthetic is injected into the skin to numb the area after which patients feel no pain,
but may experience pressure.
Once the skin is anaesthetised, a needle is
inserted and a hollow sheath is advanced into a large blood vessel (usually a vein). EP
catheters are inserted via these sheaths into the body.
Catheters are soft insulated wires that are flexible and can record electrical impulses
from specific parts of the heart for analysis. X-ray imaging is used to ensure that the
catheters are in the correct place.
One or more catheters may be used and patients
do not usually feel the catheters being inserted nor do they feel them in their heart.
Electrical impulses may be passed through the catheters to try to induce the arrhythmia
that has caused the symptoms.
Often Catheter
Ablation will be performed after the study has been done. This therapy is used to
permanently deactivate the tissue cells that are causing the problem. To do this we pass
energy to the tip of the catheter and i
n contact with the
tissue responsible for maintaining the abnormal electrical activity, the
transmitted radiofrequency energy deactivates the tissue. 
this part of the procedure.
Catheter ablation has an excellent success rate for curing many different types of heart
rhythm problems. The recovery time is rapid and some patients actually leave hospital the
same day of the procedure. Others are admitted to Fremantle hospital for several days.
If you have a heart rhythm problem, your
cardiologist can tell you whether your condition is suitable for treatment in the EP
laboratory.
Prepared by Dr. Andrew Liu, Cardiologist.
Transoesephageal Echocardiography. Electrocardiography. Echocardiography. Holter Monitoring. King of Hearts Monitoring. Exercise ECGs.
Thallium Exercise ECG. Cardiac Catheterisation. Percutaneous Coronary Intervention. Insertable Loop Recorder. Permanent Pacemaker Implant. Elective Cardioversion.