Prof. Dr. Taylan AKGÜN

What is an Electrophysiologist or Electrophysiology Specialist?

The heart’s normal rhythm and blood circulation are maintained by the electrical system within the heart. An electrophysiologist is a cardiologist who specializes in diagnosing and treating problems with the heart’s electrical system.

What Does an Electrophysiologist Do?

An electrophysiologist diagnoses and treats problems in your heart’s electrical system. They identify the cause of rhythm or conduction disorders. These rhythm disorders can range from very mild to life-threatening. Once the cause is found, they correct your rhythm and conduction disorder through medical treatment, catheter ablation, and pacemaker therapies. Successful treatment can be achieved in more than 90% of rhythm problems. This results in a significant improvement in your quality of life.

What Tests Does an Electrophysiologist Perform?

The most important step in detecting cardiac arrhythmias is having a detailed discussion with the patient about their complaints, questioning the onset, end, and what happens during the complaint. Arrhythmias sometimes continue for a while and then stop. Tests performed after they stop may come back normal. This doesn’t mean there isn’t an illness. An electrophysiologist performs certain tests to understand exactly what’s causing your problem. These include:

• Electrocardiogram (ECG)
• Holter monitor
• Event recorder
• Wearable ECG devices
• Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE)
• Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE)
• Computed tomography (CT)
• Cardiac MRI

What Conditions Do Electrophysiologists Treat?

An electrophysiologist treats most disorders in your heart rhythm. These are usually conditions where the heart beats too fast or irregularly. While some rhythm disorders are annoying and affect your quality of life, others pose fatal risks. The conditions treated include:

• All subtypes of Supraventricular tachycardias (SVT): AVNRT, AVRT, Atrial tachycardia
• Atrial fibrillation
• Atrial flutter
• Accessory pathways (also called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome or pre-excitation)
• Atrial premature beats (AES, AEA)
• Ventricular premature beats (also called VES, VEA)
• Ventricular tachycardia
• Ventricular fibrillation
• Reflex or vasovagal syncope
• Heart blocks (Pacemaker implantation, pacemaker follow-up, solving pacemaker problems)

When Should I See an Electrophysiologist?

You should see an electrophysiologist especially if you have complaints such as heart palpitations, skipped heartbeats, irregularity in pulse or heartbeats, shortness of breath, decreased exercise capacity, early fatigue, fainting, or near-fainting episodes. However, it should be remembered that symptoms in heart diseases can be similar. The electrophysiologist determines whether these complaints are due to arrhythmia through the tests they perform.