Electrophysiology Research

Einstein has become a local leader in finding new ways to help patients prevent - and even improve - heart disease. We are proud to announce our participation in a new, pioneering study that uses a monitor to measure pressure in the heart, alerting a patient's doctor if there is a problem. We are the only local hospital selected for the LAPTOP-HF study, led by Director of Electrophysiology Sumeet Mainigi, MD, FACC, FHRS.

Einstein's specialized treatments for complex electrophysiology disorders include:

• implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs)
• implantable pacemakers
• advanced heart mapping
• complex ablations 

Using a procedure known as catheter ablation, cells leading to potentially devastating arrhythmias can be targeted with radiofrequency energy delivered through tiny electrical wires in a patient's leg.

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Watch Mainigi Discuss Ablation Treatment on NBC10

Twenty percent of patients’ hearts returned to normal

While arrhythmias are very common among heart failure patients, most doctors treat these problems with medications, often without significant improvement.

Research published by Dr. Mainigi found that more aggressive treatment of arrhythmias with catheter ablation defied expectations by improving heart function in most patients. The results:

• 65 percent of patients saw significant improvement in heart function
• 20 percent had their hearts return to normal function, curing them of heart failure and allowing them to stop taking heart failure medications

One 60-year-old male patient had a heart in such bad condition that surgeons did not want to perform a valve replacement for fear he would not survive the surgery. Yet, one month after Mainigi performed an ablation to fix the man’s atrial flutter, his heart returned to normal. The ablation restored his heart to normal function, fixed his leaky valve, and meant the man no longer required heart surgery.

Arrhythmias that were successfully treated with ablation include:

• atrial fibrillation
• atrial flutter
• supraventricular tachycardias
• premature ventricular contractions (PVCs)

 A new approach to heart care

Ablation has shown so much promise it has led to revolutionary changes in the treatment of heart failure. Once thought of as more benign, in the past few years, it has been found that tachyarrhythmias, or rapid arrhythmias, can reduce the functioning of the heart and increase the development of heart disease.

They are also frequently seen in patients suffering from congestive heart failure.  

“In the past, physicians have tended to ignore these arrhythmias or treat them with medications,” Mainigi said.

A GPS system for treating the heart

At Einstein, this approach was facilitated by the development of the Biplane Electrophysiology Laboratory.

The facility houses high-resolution X-ray, ultrasound and three-dimensional mapping that is likened to a GPS system for the heart, enabling our electrophysiologists to perform complex procedures for potentially life-threatening conditions that were previously untreatable.