Devices that regulate your heartbeat with electrical pulses
Certain conditions, such as bradycardia, can cause your heart to beat too slowly. Traditional pacemakers are connected to the heart using wire leads. But a leadless pacemaker can deliver electrical pulse therapy into the heart from a small capsule placed inside the heart’s right ventricle—without the need for wire leads.
Our Electrophysiology Program is a national leader in managing complex arrhythmias. We have one of the most sophisticated cardiac EP laboratories in North America. Our doctors perform more than 5,000 electrophysiology procedures each year.
What to expect during a leadless pacemaker procedure
Before your procedure begins, we’ll insert an IV in your arm or hand to provide medication and fluids as well as a sedative to help you relax. You may be connected to an electrocardiogram so we can monitor your heart while the pacemaker is placed.
A local anesthetic will be injected to numb a small incision site in the arm or groin. A thin tube called a catheter will be inserted into the blood vessel, and the doctor will guide the catheter into your right ventricle using X-ray imaging. The doctor will attach the pacemaker to the wall of the ventricle and remove the catheter.
After the procedure, you’ll be monitored for several hours. You’ll need to keep the leg or arm in which the catheter was inserted straight for . You will spend the night in the hospital, but you will likely be able to return home the following day.
Electrophysiology program
We are leaders in developing and using the latest procedures and technologies to treat heart rhythm disorders, and our cardiac electrophysiology laboratory is one of the most sophisticated in North America.
Conditions
Arrhythmia (heart rhythm disorders)
An arrhythmia is an abnormal or irregular heartbeat caused by a disturbance in the electrical impulses that coordinate your heart rate. This can cause your heart to beat too fast, too slow, or irregularly.
Fainting (syncope)
Syncope, commonly called fainting, is a temporary loss of consciousness caused by a drop in blood flow to the brain.
Tests
Cardiac catheterization
Cardiac catheterization is a minimally invasive way to diagnose and treat a variety of heart and vascular conditions by guiding thin, flexible tubes called catheters through blood vessels to problem areas.
Echocardiogram
An echocardiogram uses high-frequency sound waves to create images of your heart.
Electrocardiogram (ECG)
An electrocardiogram, also known as an ECG, measures the heart’s electrical activity.
Event monitors
An event monitor is a small device that records the heart’s electrical activity. It’s similar to an electrocardiogram, but whereas an electrocardiogram takes place over a few minutes, an event monitor measures heart rhythms over a much longer time.
Holter monitors
A Holter monitor is a small device that records the heart’s electrical activity. It’s similar to an electrocardiogram, but whereas an electrocardiogram records over a few minutes, a Holter monitor records over the course of a day or two.
Stress tests
Stress tests are used to assess how your heart works during physical activity. There are several types of stress tests, including treadmill or bike stress tests, nuclear stress tests, stress echocardiograms, and chemically induced stress tests.
Tilt table test
Tilt table testing allows your doctor to determine the cause of explained fainting while monitoring changes in your blood pressure and heart rate while tilted at different angles.
Our providers
Location: Change location Enter your location
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Alexandra Kristina Pratt, MD
Critical Care Medicine
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Michael S Goldstein, MD
Electrophysiology
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Kevin Grant Handy, MD
Cardiac Critical Care
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Stephen M. Luczycki, MD
Cardiac Critical Care
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Richard Paul Jones, MD
Electrophysiology
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Margaret Bell Fischer, MD
Adult Congenital Cardiac Disease & Electrophysiology
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Alena Lira, MD
Cardiac Critical Care
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Akram M. Zaaqoq, MD
Cardiac Critical Care
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Alexander I. Papolos, MD
Cardiac Critical Care
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Amanda Z. Beirne, ACNP-BC
Electrophysiology
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Walter Lawrence Atiga, MD
Electrophysiology
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Glenn Robert Meininger, MD
Electrophysiology
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Cherrie Renee Webb, CRNP
Electrophysiology
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Susan O'Donoghue, MD
Electrophysiology
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John Hyoungsub Shin, MD
Electrophysiology
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Wale John Ojeyinka, AGACNP,BC
Electrophysiology
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Our locations
Distance from Change locationEnter your location
MedStar Washington Hospital Center
110 Irving St. NW Washington, DC 20010
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
3800 Reservoir Rd. NW Washington, DC, 20007
MedStar St Mary's Hospital
25500 Point Lookout Rd. Leonardtown, MD 20650
MedStar Union Memorial Hospital
201 E. University Pkwy. Baltimore, MD 21218
MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center
7503 Surratts Rd. Clinton, MD 20735
MedStar Montgomery Medical Center
18101 Prince Philip Dr. Olney, MD 20832
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Ask MHVI
Have questions for our heart and vascular program? Email us at AskMHVI@medstar.net.