AFib and heart arrhythmia care
Give your heart the attention it deserves. Appointments are available with leading AFib specialists at Ascension Texas Cardiovascular in Austin and Central Texas.
Heart rhythm and AFib care in Austin
Give your heart the attention it deserves. Appointments are available with leading AFib specialists at Ascension Texas Cardiovascular in Austin and Central Texas.
Heart disease can strike without warning
Early detection can save lives. Take our free, 3-minute heart risk assessment today. It could make all the difference.
Why choose us
When you choose Ascension Texas Cardiovascular, your heart care team collaborates, working together with you and for you. Your doctor understands your healthcare needs and goals. And all your caregivers are communicating and collaborating as a team. At Ascension Texas Cardiovascular, our care team supports you before, during and after your surgery, to help you return to the regular daily activities and those you love. We monitor your health and provide cardiac rehab and medication management.
Understand your heart arrhythmia
Electrophysiologists specialize in arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation (AFib), a type of arrhythmia where your heart beat is irregular, either too fast or too slow. It is a heart rhythm disorder that can be a sign of a more serious condition. Other symptoms of AFib may include chest pain, sweating, fatigue, shortness of breath, and weakness. AFib may come and go and affect how your heart pumps blood through your body, increasing your risk for stroke and congestive heart failure.
Symptoms of AFib and other heart arrhythmias
Common symptoms heart arrhythmias include:
- Anxiety or feeling uneasy
- Chest discomfort or pain
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Fatigue or feeling unusually tired
- Fainting
- Fluttering feeling in the chest
- Irregular or rapid heartbeat
- Shortness of breath
- Skipping or pounding heartbeat
- Weakness or difficulty exercising
How we diagnose AFib
Your doctor may recommend a series of tests as part of your care plan. EKGs, stress tests and blood tests are used to help detect an irregular heartbeat. You and your doctor will work together to choose a treatment option that is right for you.
Our heart care teams use ambulatory heart monitoring to help detect and evaluate irregular heart rhythms that may not appear during an office visit. These simple tests record your heart’s activity while you go about your daily routine, giving your cardiologist a better understanding of your heart health.
Ambulatory monitors are small, wearable devices that record your heart’s electrical activity over a period of time to identify irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias). This diagnostic tool helps guide treatment decisions, and monitor how well your current heart care plan is working.
A blood test is a lab analysis of things that may be found in your blood. You may have blood tests to keep track of how well you are managing a condition, such as diabetes or high cholesterol. You may also have them for routine checkups or when you are ill.
A chest X-ray is a quick, noninvasive imaging test that provides a detailed picture of the inside of your chest, helping your care team detect signs of a heart condition.
Your heart specialist uses echocardiograms, also known as heart ultrasounds, to create detailed images of your heart. This noninvasive test uses sound waves to show how your heart is beating and how well it's pumping blood. During the test, a transducer is placed on your chest. It sends out sound waves that bounce off your heart and create real-time images on a screen.
We offer electrocardiograms (EKGs or ECGs) to help quickly evaluate how your heart is working. This simple test records the electrical activity of your heart. It can help detect a variety of heart conditions, such as arrhythmias.
The test uses small patches called electrodes that are placed on your chest, arms and legs to record your heart's electrical activity. You'll lie still while the machine creates a tracing of your heartbeat for your doctor to review.
Our electrophysiology (EP) team performs advanced EP studies to diagnose the source and type of arrhythmias accurately. Using specialized catheters and real-time mapping, we evaluate your heart's electrical activity to guide the best treatment plan for your heart condition.
Your electrophysiologist may recommend a loop recorder implantation to help diagnose irregular heart rhythms that may be difficult to detect with standard monitoring. This small device is placed just under the skin to record your heart's activity over time continuously. If the monitoring shows that you have a heart condition, your doctor will work with you to create a treatment plan that is right for you.
This is also called a treadmill or exercise ECG. This test is done to monitor the heart while you walk on a treadmill or pedal a stationary bike. Your doctor also monitors your breathing and blood pressure. A stress test may be used to detect coronary artery disease, or to determine safe levels of exercise after a heart attack or heart surgery. This test can also be done using special medicines that stress the heart in a similar manner as exercise does. Sometimes a stress test will collect ECG information along with heart ultrasound pictures. This is called an exercise or stress echocardiogram (echo). It's more sensitive and specific than ECG stress testing alone.
How we treat AFib and other heart arrhythmias
Treatment for AFib and other heart arrhythmias may include medication, therapy or surgery.
Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is treatment to help restore the normal rhythm (timing pattern) of the heartbeat. A CRT pacemaker is a specific type of pacemaker with an additional wire that goes to the left side of the heart. This allows it to coordinate the timing between the left and right sides of the heart.
Cardioversion is a procedure that uses controlled electrical energy or medication to restore the heart to a normal rhythm. It may be recommended for people experiencing certain irregular heartbeats, including atrial fibrillation.
Left atrial appendage (LAA) closure procedures help reduce stroke risk in patients with non-valvular AFib who are unable to take long-term blood thinners. Using minimally invasive procedures such as the WATCHMAN™ device, heart specialists close off the LAA to prevent blood clots from entering the bloodstream and causing a stroke.
Your cardiologist might recommend a pacemaker if you have irregular heartbeats, a slow heart rate or are experiencing heart block. A pacemaker helps keep your heart regulated by sending electric signals to your heart if it senses trouble. The device is implanted under the skin and helps improve symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness and fainting.
We offer radiofrequency or catheter ablation to treat certain types of arrhythmias, including AFib and supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). During this minimally invasive procedure, a catheter is guided through a blood vessel to the heart, where targeted heat energy is used to interrupt abnormal electrical signals and restore a normal heart rhythm.
There are four types of catheter ablation:
- Radiofrequency ablation: Uses heat to destroy abnormal cells.
- Cryoablation: Uses cold to destroy abnormal cells affecting the heartbeat.
- Pulsed field ablation: Uses electricity to create small holes in heart cells that destroy abnormal cells while preserving surrounding tissues and minimizing the impact on areas outside the heart, such as the esophagus and lungs.
- Robotic hybrid convergent ablation: Performed in more advanced stages through a combined approach by a cardiac surgeon and an electrophysiologist.
A VAD is a mechanical device used to help the pumping function for one or both of the heart's pumping chambers (ventricles). It may be needed when heart failure gets to the point that medicines and other treatments no longer work. A VAD can help someone's heart work when they are waiting for a heart transplant. Or when someone is waiting to see if they are a candidate for a transplant. A VAD can also be a permanent treatment. And it can help a person's heart recover after surgery.
How to get care
Find a doctor by calling or scheduling an appointment online. Ask if a virtual visit is an option for your care. Need a second opinion appointment? Our team can help. Schedule a consultation today.
Get a second opinion
Decisions about your heart care are important. Getting a second opinion not only provides more information about your condition, but it can help you feel more confident in the doctor and the care plan you choose. If you’re looking for a second opinion, specialists at Ascension Texas Cardiovascular are here to listen and recommend options that are right for you. Consider getting a second opinion if:
- Your diagnosis or prognosis is unclear
- You’ve been told you have a rare or life-threatening condition
- You would like to explore other treatment options
- Your treatment options are costly or risky
- You want to hear an opinion from another specialist
- Your insurance requires a second opinion
Refer your patient to Ascension Texas Cardiovascular
Your patients can expect compassionate, personalized care from the moment our specialists connect with them. Our doctors start by listening to fully understand your patient’s needs and to develop an individualized care plan.
To refer your patient to Ascension Texas Cardiovascular call 512-324-AFIB (2342).
If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, go directly to the ER or call 911.
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