Heart Center
Technology & Procedures
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