Arrhythmia and electrophysiology program

Find a heart specialist

Having an irregular heartbeat can be unnerving. Our team can help get your child’s heart back on beat by working in collaboration with their primary care team and other medical teams.

We use the latest technology available to treat heart rhythm disorders including home monitoring with smart watch or phones. We also use 3-D mapping systems during invasive procedures, which allows us to minimize or eliminate a patient’s exposure to X-rays.

What is the arrhythmia and electrophysiology program?

If your child has a heart rhythm disorder, their heart beats either too slow or too fast. These disorders can cause fainting, palpitations or cardiac arrest.

The providers in our arrhythmia and electrophysiology program seek to identify the cause of the arrhythmia. We’ll work with you and your child to develop a specific, individualized treatment plan to best meet their needs.

Why choose the arrhythmia and electrophysiology program?

At Advocate Children’s Hospital, our arrhythmia and electrophysiology team has the expertise you can rely on to treat heart rhythm disorders for newborns to young adults. We also have the special expertise to manage and treat complex arrhythmias in adults with congenital heart disease.

Our team has decades of experience performing advanced procedures – known as ablations – to treat arrhythmias and placing pacemakers and defibrillators. We use the most advanced technology available tailored for your child’s specific heart rhythm disorder.

When you come to us for care, you’ll be treated at one of the few advanced pediatric electrophysiology labs in the country accredited by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission. This accreditation is based on the experience and credentialing of our physicians, nurses, staff and anesthesiologists as well as our excellent results.

What to expect from the arrhythmia and electrophysiology program

When your child comes in for a consultation, we’ll do a physical examination and complete family history to identify any genetic conditions which could affect other family members. This initial evaluation also may include an EKG and a wearable heart monitor.

If further testing is needed, your child will receive excellent care at Advocate Children’s Hospital or University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital.

Our services include:

Non-invasive testing such as EKGs and wearable heart monitors. These are conveniently available at our clinic sites throughout the Chicagoland area.
Advanced diagnostic tools such as cardiac MRI and cardiopulmonary exercise testing
Invasive testing and procedures including electrophysiology studies and catheter ablation
Pacemaker and defibrillator service for children and adults with congenital heart disease
Collaboration with specialists for laser lead extraction of pacemaker or defibrillator leads in children and adults with congenital heart disease
Genetic evaluation and management for inherited heart rhythm disorders
Care for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at risk for arrhythmias
Expertise in the care of adults with arrhythmias and congenital heart disease

Conditions we treat

We provide the care that people of all ages need for arrhythmia. We’ll work with you and your child to get their heart back on the right beat.

We diagnose and treat heart rhythms that are either too fast or too slow. These include:

Some heart conditions, such as Long QT syndrome and Brugada syndrome, are genetic or inherited and can occur in other family members. If your family has a genetic cause for an arrhythmia, our genetic specialists can help your family navigate genetic testing as well as the diagnosis and treatment as needed.

If you were born with a congenital heart defect, you’ll need to continue to receive care throughout your life. We work closely with the adult congenital heart disease program to provide comprehensive and collaborative care for heart rhythm disorders.

Our team of clinicians understand your child’s complex and unique needs. When your child gets older, we’re here to help them transition into an adult program designed specifically to meet their needs.

We’re here to provide the evaluation and treatment of fetal heart rhythm disorders in collaboration with the fetal cardiology program. We also have a long-standing collaboration with the fetal cardiology experts who perform fetal magnetocardiography – electrocardiogram for the fetus with a heart rhythm disorder – at the Herma Heart Institute in Wisconsin.

We’re also here to evaluate and treat people with: