When you have an irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia, you need a team of specialists who can determine why your heart is beating too fast, too slow or irregularly. The specialists at the Mercyhealth Arrhythmia Center can help.
Our electrophysiology team specializes in diagnosing and treating heart arrhythmias. We use advanced procedures and state-of-the-art technology to get your heart’s rhythm beating regularly. We serve the southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois communities.
What is an arrhythmia?
An arrhythmia is a condition in which the heart beats with an irregular or abnormal rhythm. This is sometimes felt as a “fluttering” in the chest or described as the heart “skipping a beat.” A heartbeat is coordinated by electrical impulses. In some cases, the electrical impulses don’t work properly, causing the heart to beat too fast, too slow, or irregularly.
Arrhythmias: true or false?
At some point in life, many adults have an abnormal heart rhythm, also called an arrhythmia. Their hearts may beat too slowly—fewer than 60 beats per minute. Or they may beat too quickly—more than 100 beats per minute. Do you know how an arrhythmia might affect you?
True or false: If you had an arrhythmia, you'd feel it.
False. Not necessarily. When it's very brief, an arrhythmia may have almost no symptoms. You may never know it happened. On the other hand, it can make you feel as though your heart is skipping a beat or racing. You could also faint or feel light-headed.
True or false: Many arrhythmias are harmless and don't need treatment.
True. Arrhythmias can be harmless. But some are serious—even life-threatening. Fortunately, they can often be successfully treated.
Treatments include:
- Lifestyle changes.
- Medications.
- A pacemaker or implanted defibrillator.
- A catheter-based procedure called cardiac ablation.
- Surgery.
True or false: An abnormal heart rhythm can cause a stroke.
True. Atrial fibrillation (AF)—the most common kind of arrhythmia—dramatically raises stroke risk. People who have AF are up to five times more likely to have a stroke than those who don't have it. Signs of AF include a racing, fluttering or pounding feeling in the heart. Tell your doctor right away if you experience any of these symptoms.
True or false: An arrhythmia is a structural problem, so a heart-healthy diet won't prevent it.
False. Heart disease causes many arrhythmias. So it's important to care for your heart with a healthy diet. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Also include fat-free or low-fat dairy products and lean meats, poultry without skin, fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, nuts, seeds, beans and peas. Go easy on salt, added sugars and solid fats.
True or false: Caffeine might make your heart beat irregularly.
True. Some people have heart palpitations when they drink coffee or eat chocolate. Some over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplements can also make your heart beat irregularly. So always check with your doctor before taking a new medicine or supplement.
How's your heart health? It matters at any age. You can take stock of your heart disease risk and make healthy changes to reduce it.
Learn how to protect your heart
Sources: American Heart Association; Heart Rhythm Society
Reviewed 2/1/2023
Sources
- American Heart Association. "What is an Arrhythmia?" https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/arrhythmia/about-arrhythmia.
- Heart Rhythm Society. "Patient Information Sheets." https://upbeat.org/patient-information-sheets.
- MedlinePlus. "Atrial Fibrillation." https://medlineplus.gov/atrialfibrillation.html.
Why choose us for arrhythmia care?
Our team is led by highly trained electrophysiologists, who are cardiologists who specialize in heart rhythm disorders. They work closely with a wide variety of other medical professionals to ensure you receive the best care possible, close to home.
We provide the latest and most effective arrythmia treatments and utilize the most comprehensive approach to all heart rhythm disorders. We will clearly explain your options so you can make an informed decision about your treatment.
We are on the cutting-edge of arrhythmia treatment, adopting promising new treatments, including the world’s smallest pacemaker and devices to prevent stroke from atrial fibrillation. We also contribute to the research and development of new therapies, treatments and devices.
We offer a patient-centered team approach to ensure the highest quality care possible, in the timeliest manner. We are passionate about providing exemplary care while creating a quality and seamless patient experience.
Conditions we treat
Ablation is a minimally invasive procedure used to remove faulty electrical pathways from specific areas of the heart. Ablation can be used to treat the following arrhythmias:
AFib is an irregular, often rapid heart rate that commonly causes poor blood flow and is associated with an increased risk of stroke. Mercyhealth Arrhythmia Center is an Atrial Fibrillation Center of Excellence. This means that we provide evidence-based, patient focused, comprehensive state-of-the-art care. Our center delivers an integrated, multidisciplinary care model. We partner closely with our primary care doctors, advanced practice providers, and sleep, cardiac rehabilitation and weight loss specialists.
This is a condition in which the heart's upper chambers (atria) beat too quickly.
This is a rapid heartbeat that develops in the upper chambers of your heart when the normal electrical impulses of your heart are disrupted.
This is a condition in which the lower chambers of the heart (ventricles) beat very quickly; commonly diagnosed as V-tach.
PVCs are benign, in most cases, but if bothersome or frequent, our team offers an ablation procedure to target the abnormal signals that cause this issue, which can help reduce your associated symptoms.
Fainting can be scary and interfere with your quality of life. We offer a procedure called cardio neural ablation to help patients who experience syncopal episodes or “passing out” intermittently and without warning manage their health condition
New hope for patients with AFIB
Left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) is a one-time procedure to seal the left atrial appendage-a small area off the left, upper portion of the heart. People with AFib are at higher risk of clots forming in this appendage, which can then escape to the blood stream and lead to stroke. Our team uses the WATCHMAN™ device as a LAAO. This device can eliminate the need for blood-thinning medication, if you have non-valvular AFib.
This permanent heart implant effectively reduces the risk of stroke—without the risk of bleeding that can come with the long-term use of warfarin (the most common blood thinner, also known as Coumadin). WATCHMAN can eliminate the regular blood tests and food-and-drink restrictions that come with warfarin. Learn more by watching this video.
Devices to control arrhythmia
We use the latest devices and techniques to keep your heart beating in rhythm.
A pacemaker is a battery-operated device that helps maintain a normal heart rhythm. It sends electrical signals to the heart to stimulate contracting or pumping of the heart muscle. It is designed specifically for patients who have irregular or very slow heart rates and symptoms of fainting or fatigue. The doctor sets the pacemaker’s rate. The pacemaker generator is placed under the skin of the chest wall, below the collarbone. It contains a battery and wires (leads) that are positioned inside the heart and transmit the signal from the battery to the heart, thus causing the contracting.
- Micra™ leadless pacemaker Dubbed the “world’s smallest pacemaker,” the Micra is about one-tenth the size of a conventional pacemaker and delivers electrical pulses to the heart directly, without leads. Four tiny tines anchor the Micra in place and its battery lasts up to 12 years. Micra placement is minimally invasive, it is inserted into the heart’s right ventricle through a vein in the patient’s groin.
- Aveir ™ Leadless Pacemaker (LP) is the next evolution in leadless technology that is designed for chronic retrieval, an extended battery life, fewer lead-related complications compared to transvenous pacemakers, and to provide an expandable platform to later support a dual chamber pacing system, upon regulatory approval.
Cardiac resynchronization therapy involves inserting a small device that delivers electrical impulses to the left and right ventricles of your heart to help them contract at the same time. This helps your heart pump more efficiently and helps manage/reduce heart failure symptoms.
Cardiac defibrillators (ICDs) are implanted to prevent life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular tachycardia (V-tach) and ventricular fibrillation (V-fib), which are often associated with sudden death. The device delivers an electric pulse that helps restore a normal rhythm in the heart.
Loop recorder is implanted to assess atrial fibrillation and monitor for arrhythmias in patients with cryptogenic stroke. It measures and records their heartbeat over time as they go about their daily activities.
Lead extraction is the removal of wires (leads) from your heart. The wires are part of an implanted cardiac device. This procedure is performed when there is infection in the device or in the heart causing blood stream infection.
Remote heart failure monitoring
Using an FDA-approved wireless device called CardioMEMS™, your heart can be monitored to reduce heart failure hospitalizations and improves quality of life. The miniature, wireless monitoring sensor is implanted in the pulmonary artery during an outpatient procedure. It measures pulmonary artery pressure, an early indicator of worsening heart failure, to detect fluid buildup several days before a patient notices symptoms.