Children's Arrhythmia Services

The pediatric heart program at Children's of Mississippi offers the state’s only cardiac arrhythmia services devoted to children, caring for patients ranging in age from prenatal (before birth) to young adult. The specialized care team provides treatment to fine-tune, or rewire, the heart’s electrical system in patients with abnormally high or low heart rates.

Technological advancements allow the care team, led by a board-certified pediatric cardiologist with special certification in pacing and defibrillation, to implant pacemakers and other devices in young patients, including newborns and infants. Pacemakers help control the speed and pattern of a heartbeat, while a defibrillator monitors the heart for life-threatening arrhythmias. Both use electrical signals to reset the heart's rhythm.

Our advanced training and experience provides skills to also treat intrauterine arrhythmias and follow-up care throughout the pregnancy until delivery.

The pediatric cardiac arrhythmia team includes a nurse coordinator certified in pacing and defibrillation and is supported by three board-certified pediatric cardiologists, a congenital heart surgeon and the adult electrophysiology department.

Conditions

Conditions treated through Children's of Mississippi arrhythmia services include, but are not limited to:

• Atrial flutter
• Atrial fibrillation
• Heart block
• Sick sinus syndrome
• Supraventricular tachycardia
• Ventricular tachycardia
• Ventricular fibrillation
• Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome

Invasive arrhythmia care

Invasive procedures at Children's of Mississippi include electrophysiology studies and curative ablations for fast heart beats (tachycardia). All are performed by a board-certified pediatric cardiologist and supported by three pediatric nurses and a respiratory therapist in a fully equipped pediatric catheterization room. General anesthesia is administered by a pediatric anesthesiologist, and catheters then are placed to map the heart’s electrical activity and then destroy areas firing abnormal signals.

Our specialists use advanced three-dimensional mapping, in conjunction with other intracardiac images, to determine the specific area causing the arrhythmia. Resynchronization devices constantly monitor the heart’s impulses and rhythms. Our pediatric arrhythmia specialist can determine if a device would benefit your child.

Non-invasive arrhythmia care

Non-invasive arrhythmia testing at Children's of Mississippi includes evaluating heart rate patterns for palpitation, dizziness, fainting and seizures. Patients are evaluated, provided medical therapy and followed post-procedure in the pediatric cardiology clinic.

Services

• Diagnostic testing
• EKG, Holter monitor, event monitors, exercise stress testing, tilt testing and programming
• Electrophysiology testing, catheter ablation with radio frequency and cryoablation
• Pacemaker and ICD evaluation, implantation and programming

Sophisticated pacemakers, implantable cardiac defibrillators and resynchronization devices constantly monitor the heart’s impulses and rhythms. Our pediatric arrhythmia specialist can determine if a device would benefit your child.