Disrupting electrical signals that cause atrial fibrillation
In most people with atrial fibrillation (AFib), the electrical signals that cause an abnormal heart rhythm originate in one or more of the four pulmonary veins. Pulmonary vein isolation is a type of cardiac ablation that creates scar tissue to disrupt those electrical signals.
Our Electrophysiology Program has the expertise and technology to treat even the most complex arrhythmias. Your doctor may refer you to our experts for pulmonary vein isolation if other treatments, including medication, do not control your AFib.
What to expect during a pulmonary vein isolation
You may be given a sedative to help you relax, but you will remain awake throughout the procedure. A local anesthetic will be injected to numb the area in the groin, neck, or shoulder where the doctor will insert a thin, flexible tube known as a catheter. They will guide the catheter through a blood vessel to the heart. Small electrical impulses will be sent through an electrode to identify the abnormal tissue causing the arrhythmia.
Your doctor will send a mild, painless burst of heat or cold through the catheter to create a scar or destroy the tissue in the pulmonary veins causing your abnormal heart rhythm. The procedure usually takes three to six hours. You may be able to go home the same day and should be able to return to normal activities after a couple days.
Tests
Chest X-ray
Chest X-rays use a small dose of radiation to create pictures of the structures inside the chest, including the lungs, heart, and chest wall.
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.
Our providers
Location: Change location Enter your location
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Amanda Z. Beirne, ACNP-BC
Electrophysiology
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Jeffrey Yu-chen Chang, PA
Electrophysiology & Cardiology
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Kathryn Rose Dougherty, PA
Electrophysiology
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Sarfraz A. Durrani, MD
Electrophysiology
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Zayd Eldadah, MD
Electrophysiology
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Jay Aaron Mazel, MD
Electrophysiology
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Glenn Robert Meininger, MD
Electrophysiology
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Susan O'Donoghue, MD
Electrophysiology
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Wale John Ojeyinka, AGACNP-BC
Electrophysiology
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Edward V. Platia, MD
Electrophysiology
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Manish Shah, MD
Electrophysiology
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Sunjeet Singh Sidhu, MD
Internal Medicine & Electrophysiology
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David Abraham Strouse, MD
Electrophysiology
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Athanasios Thomaides, MD
Cardiology & Electrophysiology
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Apostolos Tsimploulis, MD
Electrophysiology
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Megan Joy Zemrose, PA
Electrophysiology
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Our locations
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MedStar Washington Hospital Center
110 Irving St. NW Washington, DC 20010
MedStar Union Memorial Hospital
201 E. University Pkwy. Baltimore, MD 21218
Additional information
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.
Ask MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute
Have general questions for our heart and vascular program? Email us at AskMHVI@medstar.net. If you have clinically-specific questions, please contact your physician’s office.