Dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of heart rhythm irregularities, Riverside Heart and Vascular Center has the Virginia Peninsula’s only dedicated electrophysiology lab. Our physicians perform EP (electrophysiology) studies to diagnose and guide treatment of abnormal heartbeats. Using state-of-the-art equipment and techniques including 3D mapping, tiny catheters are used to create a map of the heart’s electrical system. Abnormal heart rates and rhythms can be corrected with pacemakers or through cardiac ablation procedures to the area of the heart causing the abnormality. Riverside also offers several other non-invasive tests including the tilt-table test, a test used to evaluate the cause of fainting spells that also helps rule out cardiac disease as a cause.

Automated internal cardiac defibrillators (AICD) are used to treat patients prone to sudden, rapid heart rates. Cardiac resynchronization therapy or bi-ventricular pacemakers and defibrillators are some of the most innovative treatments for congestive heart failure. These implantable devices are designed to treat the two components of heart failure, synchronization and output. By incorporating pacemaker technology to resynchronize both sides of the heart the pacemaker improves the cardiac output or pumping action of the heart. The addition of an automatic defibrillator adds the security of emergency treatment in the event of sudden cardiac arrest.