Cardiology

The unit for electrophysiology and rationing in the Kaplan Medical Center is one of the leading units in the country. It is equipped with the most updated equipment in many fields of its activity.

The unit has several branches:

1. Designated clinics
2. Outpatients
3. Catheterization room for various procedures
4. Academic activity

The clinics are:

1. Device clinic to test the variety of implanted devices
2. Arrhythmia clinic, for treatment and follow up after arrhythmic patients
3. Fainting clinic, for inclusive clarification and approach in post-fainting patients
4. AFib clinic, for follow up and treatment and matching treatment type for these patients including medical treatment medical/drug-induced defibrillation and also performing ablation for the AFib.

Outpatients: Within the outpatients clinic we mostly perform electrical defibrillations to patients suffering form AFib. In addition, we perform various electrophysiological tests including: the Flecainied test for patients presumably suffering from Brugada Syndrome, Adenosine test, epinephrine test, monitoring after simple procedures such as device replacement, implanting an ECG recorder.

Activity in the catheterization room:

The unit performs a wide variety of electrophysiological and rationing activities, including:

• Implanting an ECG recorder for clarification of fainting and to record AFib instances.
• Implanting CRTs
• Implanting intercardiac defibrillators
• Implanting subcutaneous defibrillators
• Implanting optimizers for patients with heart failures
• Implanting a device to close the left atrium (LAACD) to prevent strokes
• Extracting electrodes from the heart when necessary, including using a designated laser system.

The unit has an ablation plan for AFib and it conducts many activities on a national and even global basis and grows every year. In addition, some of the ablation activities uses 3D mapping system through which the exposure to radiation decreases in over 95% and carries positive outcomes for the patients and the staff. We also perform a wide variety of ablations including:

• AVRT and AVNRT including SVT – ablation for SVT
• Ablation for Atrial Flutter
• Ablation with an advanced mapping system, Precision, for a variety of atrial arrhythmias (atrial tachycardia from right and left and post-surgical intervention). The precision system allows more precision in mapping the arrhythmia and has a higher success rate and a lower complication rate along with a decrease of the exposure to x-rays.
• A large regulated plan for AFib ablation in a variety of methods with a chilled balloon – cryo-Balloon, with a radio frequency in a circular PVAC catheter, conventionally with a radio frequency and a 3D mapping system.
• Performing ablations to various Ventricular Tachycardias including Myocardial infarction or focused ventricular tachycardias. In all these ablations we used the most updated 3D imaging system, Percision.

Academic Activities

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• Community lectures
• Weekly meeting, and also research meetings in the Kaplan Medical Center, in the Sheba Medical Center, etc.
• Vast and organized research activity, and last year 7 important works were published in major cardiology peer reviewed magazines
• There are a few research projects conducted simultaneously, including mentoring med students for their MD research project, and an intern for the basic sciences period.

Achievements and Innovations

The Kaplan Medical Center electrophysiology and rationing unit is a leading unit in many areas including:

1. The optimizers were first implanted in the Kaplan Medical Center about 4 years ago.
2. The first subcutaneous defibrillator implanted in Israel was implanted in the Kaplan Medical Center about 1 year ago.
3. We were the first to implant a LAACD from the Clalit hospitals.
4. Mentoring the performance of various activities in a few hospitals in Israel.