The Department of Electrophysiology and Electrostimulation, headed by Dr. Maurizio Gasparini, diagnoses and treats arrhythmias in both the outpatient and the inpatient setting and sees over 4,000 patients annually. In particular, the team focuses on such patient groups as athletes and schoolchildren.
The team is able to deal with any arrhythmia pathology, often performing radiofrequency catheter ablation following a diagnostic evaluation. Catheter ablation is an effective treatment for patients with different forms of supraventricular arrhythmia and /or ventricular arrhythmia. In particularly complex cases or cases in which previous ablations have proved ineffective, the specialists use advanced computer-aided diagnostic systems (mapping) for the reconstruction of three-dimensional images (EnSite systems or CARTO).
In cases of long-lasting atrial fibrillation or internal and external cardioversion, the team opts for electrical intracavitary cardioversion.
For patients with symptomatic syncope, the team performs electrophysiological evaluation and the head-up tilt test, using an implantable loop recorder (Reveal) for cases of unexplained syncope.
In cases of malignant ventricular arrhythmias not treatable by ablation, previous cardiac arrest or a high risk of sudden death, the team implants a single or dual chamber ventricular defibrillator. What is more, the team relies on unicameral or bicameral permanent pacemakers for the management of hypokinetic arrhythmias.
As for patients with heart failure non-responsive to medical therapy, the doctors employ pacemakers and defibrillators that allow atrio-biventricular pacing to help improve the function of the left ventricle in ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy.
