Tag Archive - Texas Cardiac

TCAI Hosts First-Ever EPLive Symposium

April 2, 2012 in AFIB, Community Outreach with 0 Comments

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Normally, I try to keep this blog focused on issues that impact patients directly, like how to take your own pulse, or how to prevent heart disease. But this time, I want to toot TCAI’s own horn a bit.

Last week, we hosted a symposium called EPLive here at St. David’s Medical Center in Austin. The first of its kind, this conference brought together the heavy hitters of electrophysiology to discuss live and pre-recorded EP procedures. Over 100 physicians, nurses, EP technologists, and industry representatives attended the two-day symposium, which contained a total of nearly 40 case presentations. Faculty included world-renowned electrophysiologists from major EP centers in Boston (MA), Akron (OH), Philadelphia (PA), Chicago (IL), Rochester (MN), New York, Stanford (CA), Los Angeles (CA), and Lancaster (PA), as well as Hamburg, Germany and Venice, Italy.

TCAI broadcast six live cases from our EP Lab on each day of the conference. While one of our physicians was focusing on performing the procedure, another TCAI physician walked conference attendees through the procedure and fielded questions from the audience. This unprecedented format allowed physicians to watch, live, complex cases being performed in real-time on anonymous (but very real) patients, with real challenges, trouble-shooting, and results. The sessions focused on ablation of atrial fibrillation and ventricular arrhythmias, as well as cardiac devices (such as pacemakers and defibrillators) and new technologies in electrophysiology.

As the brain-child of Dr. Andrea Natale (TCAI’s Medical Director) and the course co-directors, Drs. Francis Marchilinski, Paul J. Wang, and Amin Al-Ahmad, the goal of EPLive was to use actual procedures as a tool for teaching electrophysiologists how to implement the latest technological and technical advances in the field. Many of the cases sparked lively debate about the best way to approach a certain aspect of the procedure, and all prompted thoughtful questions from experienced and novice electrophysiology professionals.

According to attendees, the first-ever EPLive symposium was a huge success. We hope to host the conference again here in Austin in 2014.

TCAI Staff, Doctors Venture to Venice

November 17, 2011 in AFIB, Heart, Heart Rhythm with 2 Comments

What do you think of when you picture Venice, Italy?  Romantic gondola rides along the canal?  Check.  Towering cathedrals?  Yep.  Ornate glass masterpieces?  Got ‘em.  One of the largest annual conferences on cardiac arrhythmias in the world?  Huh?  Yes, that’s right, each year, experts in electrophysiology from across the globe convene in Venice to discuss the latest in arrhythmia treatment and research.  This year, three TCAI nurses, six physicians, several researchers, a technologist, and a former patient were all invited to speak at this 12th annual who’s who of electrophysiology.  Not only did they share with the world the great things happening at St. David’s Medical Center, they also brought back some great knowledge, and some ideas for improving patient care and education stateside.

Our allied health professionals (nurses and technologists) were tapped for some heavy-hitting sessions in Venice.  Barbara Thomas, the Director of Electrophysiology (EP) Services and the Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) center, was the co-chair of the allied professionals track at the meeting and served on a panel discussing the role of EP nurses in different national health systems.   Tami Metz, the Manager of TCAI’s EP Lab, spoke about ablation of ventricular arrhythmias.  Our resident Coordinator of EP Education, Matthew Dare, gave a presentation about new technology in the field.  Cindy Williams, one of our AFib Nurses, presented on the nurse’s role in AFib Ablation, touting our unique Nurse Navigator program, where AFib patients have a nurse follow them from initial through two years’ post-procedure.  One of our nurse practitioners, Kay Zedlitz, delivered her perspective on improving patient outcomes using Cardiac Resynchronization Devices.

TCAI physicians stole the show in Venice.  Doctors Gallinghouse, Canby, Sanchez, Horton, Natale, and Burkhardt all shared their expertise, experience, and research results on just about every subject in EP.  Dr. Andrea Natale, the Medical Director of TCAI, was co-president of the conference, participated in a lively debate about whether AFib ablation should be first-line therapy in caring for patients with AFib.  Based on studies conducted by TCAI, Dr. Natale came down on the “pro” side of the debate, explaining that, for patients with a normal heart, ablation can be an effective first tool that the physician reaches for in curing AFib.

Speaking of TCAI research, several of our research fellows presented abstracts and posters in the conference.  Dr. Luigi Di Biase, Senior Research Fellow, extended his stay in Italy so he could accept the prestigious Valsalva Award in Bologna, Italy.  The award, given by the Italian Institute for Cardiovascular Research, honors distinguished, young researchers who have made significant innovations in cardiovascular research.

So next time you think of Venice, think of all the great knowledge that’s gained and shared every October at the Venice Arrhythmias conference.  Because, how romantic can a gondola ride be when you’re in AFib?

image credit : Chiara Marra

Research Fellows Bring the World to Austin

April 29, 2011 in AFIB, Heart, Heart Rhythm, Lifestyle Tips with 1 Comment

There are a lot of things that make TCAI unique—being housed in one of Thompson Reuters’ Top 100 Hospitals, having access to the most sophisticated technology available to treat arrhythmias, and our world-respected physicians, to name a few. But one of the most impressive features about TCAI is a group of folks you’ll probably never even see—our Research Fellows. Every day, these guys and gals work tirelessly to investigate new and better ways to care for patients with rhythm disorders. 

They study things like what makes heart rhythm disorders happen in the first place, the relationship between other disorders and arrhythmias, and the safest ways to do the procedures that correct rhythm disorders. These behind-the-scenes detectives hail from around the globe, and are responsible for publishing research studies that have advanced the standard of care available to patients everywhere.

Luigi di Biase, MD, PhD, FHRS hails from Italy, and is the author of more than 80 published articles and eight book chapters. Luigi is an assistant professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Austin, Texas, and at the University of Foggia, Italy. His most recent publication investigated the safety and efficacy of cryoablation for treatment of ventricular tachycardia. [Link]

Rong Bai is a Doctor and Professor of Medicine originally from China. He has also studied in Italy, Germany, and in the U.S. at the Cleveland Clinic. Rong recently published an article about using a novel form of echocardiogram to guide placement of defibrillator leads. [Link]

Mitra Mohanty was a family physician for 14 years in India. In addition to her extensive research background, Mitra is a Biology professor at Austin Community College. She is currently working on a study investigating the relationship between migraine headaches and AFib.


Prassant Mohanty is an Epidemiologist who began his career as a Primary Care Physician in Orissa, India. His work has included planning and reviewing cancer-related research studies developing public health monitoring programs. Prassant recently published a study on using a blood test to compare outcomes for men vs. women for atrial fibrillation (AFib) ablation. [Link]

Agnes Pump is a recent addition to the TCAI Research Fellows team from Budapest, Hungary. She was a doctor of cardiology and internal medicine in her home country, and translated a book about AFib from English to Hungarian.

Pasquale Santangeli is a medical doctor from Rome, Italy with extensive experience in researching and treating heart rhythm disorders in his home country. He recently published a broad review of the research that has shaped our treatment of atrial fibrillation with catheter ablation, with recommendations on direction for the future. [Link]

–Jamie LaRue, RN