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Cardiac Electrophysiologist Dr. Mark Harvey, with Oklahoma Cardiovascular Associates, will be implanting a biventricular defibrillator live over the Internet on September 21st at 5:00 PM CDT from the Oklahoma Heart Hospital.

The implantation of a biventricular defibrillator is a significant part of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) to restore  MORE...

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Cardiac Electrophysiologist Dr. Mark Harvey, with Oklahoma Cardiovascular Associates, will be implanting a biventricular defibrillator live over the Internet on September 21st at 5:00 PM CDT from the Oklahoma Heart Hospital.

The implantation of a biventricular defibrillator is a significant part of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) to restore the natural synchronized beating of the lower chambers of the heart, the ventricles, to treat chronic heart failure. The right and left ventricles must beat in a synchronized pattern to get the blood pumped optimally from the heart to deliver oxygen to the rest of the body. When the ventricles are out of sync - the heart function declines - patients experience marked shortness of breath, dry cough, swelling in the ankles, weight gain, fatigue and a rapid or irregular heartbeat.

A special kind of implantable cardiac device, called a biventricular defibrillator, can restore the hearts synchrony and improve the movement of oxygen through the body, dramatically improving heart failure patient's symptoms. The implantation of a biventricular pacemaker improves symptoms in about 75% of heart failure patients.

The biventricular defibrillator is implanted at the Electrophysiology lab at the Oklahoma Heart Hospital. As with a standard pacemaker, the Cardiac Electrophysiologist makes a pocket under the skin to hold the computerized device. Soft electric wires or leads are inserted through key veins of the heart to electrically stimulate the heart in these areas. The device monitors and paces the heart like a normal pacemaker, it can shock the heart if needed like a defibrillator and it resynchronizes the pumping of the heart by pulsing the left ventricle.