The future of Cardiac Arrhythmia Management is here today!

Baptist Health Medical Center, Little Rock will be the first hospital in the state to make this new procedure available to the many people who are afflicted with abnormal heart rhythms that effect their daily life. This exciting new state of the art development called the CARTO system will allow Electrophysiologists ( Cardiologists that specialize in the treatment of abnormal heart rhythms ) to conduct procedures in a more precise way. The CARTO system is a leading edge three dimensional navigational system. The system will be used to assist during a commonly employed procedure called Radiofrequency Ablation.

A heart rhythm problem can cause the heart to beat erratically and the patient may experience symptoms such as dizziness or shortness of breath. Sometimes a heart rhythm problem can stop the heart from pumping blood. This is called cardiac arrest and can be life threatening. (Note: Cardiac Arrest is not the same as a heart attack. A heart attack is when a blood vessel to the heart muscle is blocked.)

An ablation is the treatment of choice for several cardiac rhythm abnormalities such as atrial tachycardia, atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter. During an ablation, a small catheter is threaded up a vein in the body to the heart. An area of the heart is then located which is producing the abnormal heart rhythm. Using radio waves this abnormal area is ablated or destroyed, allowing the normal heart rhythm pathways to take over. With the current system, the doctor works with a two dimensional view of the heart and its structures. The new system will provide a 3 dimensional view of the heart which can be rotated on the computer screen as the doctor works.

CARTO Mapping Applications Include:

•   Atrial Flutter
•   Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT)
•   Ventricular Tachycardia (VT)
•   Atrial Tachycardia
•   Atrioventricular Nadal Reentry Tachycardia (AVNRT)
•   Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia

The system consists of a computer with a graphical display unit, catheters with a tiny sensor at the tip and a magnetic field emitter. The field emitter is mounted under the procedure table. This is used to track the catheter's location at all times by the physician as it is being moved throughout the heart. Data collected from the catheter tip also tells the physician precisely where the abnormal electrical pathway is, where he has already ablated and where the best selected area is for the ablation.

Some of the features of this product include:

•   Reproducible Pinpoint Location:Provides ability to return catheter to previous position within 1mm
•   3D Imaging: Site specific 3D mapping with local and global reference points
•   Compatibility:Integrates with other existing equipment
•   Real-time Tracking: The visualization of catheter movement is in real time rather than delayed frames.
  

The system will be used for patients who have abnormal pathways that are difficult to find using the conventional approach.