It is used when children have a heart rhythm condition. It is an invasive cardiac technique whose purpose is to perform various tests that allow a detailed analysis of the heart’s electrical activity and thus establish an accurate diagnosis of the disease that causes these abnormalities.
The heart works with a series of electrical impulses that are responsible for controlling the speed and rhythm of the heartbeat. Through electrophysiology it is possible to observe in detail the behavior of these signals in the heartbeat, being able to identify the origin of the arrhythmia and the degree of risk of a life-threatening heart attack.
Pediatric electrophysiology is recommended when your child has a severe arrhythmia, has lost consciousness, has a heart condition that poses a possibility of sudden death, or requires cardiac ablation.
Potential risks:
As in any procedure, there are certain risks that you must consider:
- Vascular or heart valves involvement.
- Major alterations in the cardiac electrical system.
- Clots.
- Hemorrhages due to perforation in the heart muscle.
- Infections.
- Heart attack and stroke.
In a pediatric electrophysiology, several catheters are inserted into your child’s blood vessels in the groin, moving them until they reach the heart under the guidance of dynamic X-ray images. Once installed, they will record cardiac electrical function through their tip sensors.
Said study has an average duration of five hours or more, depending on the complexity of the test required. It is not a painful procedure, but it can be annoying for your child to feel that their palpitations speed up or slow down.
At the end of the study, your child will be transferred to the recovery area, where he or she will remain three to four hours, while heart rate and blood pressure are monitored. If there are no complications, they can go home that same day.
Our Pediatric Heart Center is the only private center in Mexico to treat heart conditions with an exclusive unit for pediatric surgeries.
We have a group of highly trained specialists made up of pediatric cardiologists, echocardiographers, interventional cardiologists, electrophysiologists, pediatric cardiovascular surgeons, pediatric cardiovascular anesthesiologists, pediatric specialists in cardiovascular intensive care, nurses, medical assistants, perfusionists, psychologists, and social workers.
Services:
- Cardiovascular surgery
- Interventional cardiology
- Pediatric cardiac ultrasound
- Fetal cardiac ultrasound
- Pediatric electrophysiology
- Fetal electrophysiology
- Cardiovascular intensive care unit
- Pediatric cardiology clinic
- Univentricular heart program
Related centers and departments:
Fuentes:
- cardiopatiascongenitas.net
- mayoclinic.org
- medlineplus.gov
- texasheart.org
- kidshealth.otg
- msdmanuals.com
- medigraphic.com
- Electrofisiología cardiaca. Cardiovasc Metab Sci. 2020;31(Suppl: 4):412-414. doi:10.35366/98796.
- Dorantes SM, Castro HJ. La electrofisiología clínica en Cuba. Rev Cubana Cardiol Cir Cardiovasc. 2019;25(1):.
- Paneque-Sánchez-Toscano I, Fernández-Pérez JM, Pinilla-Jiménez C, et al. Procedimiento de actuación de enfermería en el estudio electrofisiológico cardíaco y en la ablación mediante radiofrecuencia. Rev Mex Enf Cardiol. 2013;21(3):123-127.
- López OCE. Variaciones del ritmo cardiaco observadas en el servicio de Electrofisiología del Hospital Mocel. Med Int Mex. 2012;28(5):420-426.
