Electrophysiology Study (EPS)

Write down the correct date, time and location of your procedure.

Arrange a ride home. Ask a family member or friend to drive you home after your surgery or procedure. Do not drive yourself home.

Ask your healthcare provider if you need to stop using aspirin or any other prescribed or over-the-counter medicine before your procedure or surgery.

Bring your medicine bottles or a list of your medicines when you see your healthcare provider. Tell your provider if you are allergic to any medicine. Tell your provider if you use any herbs, food supplements or over-the-counter medicine.

Your healthcare provider may order blood tests before your procedure. You may also need an EKG or echocardiogram (echo) to check your heart rhythm. Talk to your healthcare provider about these or other tests you may need. Write down the date, time and location for each test.

Ask your healthcare providers about directions for eating and drinking.

Ask your healthcare provider before taking any medicines on the day of your procedure. These medicines include insulin, diabetes drugs, high blood pressure medications or heart medications. Bring a list of all the medicines you take or your pill bottles with you to the hospital.

You or a close family member will be asked to sign a legal document called a consent form. It gives healthcare providers permission to do the procedure or surgery. It also explains the problems that may happen and your choices. Make sure all your questions are answered before you sign this form.

Healthcare providers may insert an intravenous tube (IV) into your vein. A vein in the arm is usually chosen. Through the IV tube, you may be given liquids and medicine.

An anesthesiologist will talk to you before your surgery. You may need medicine to keep you asleep or numb an area of your body during surgery. Tell your healthcare providers if you or anyone in your family has had a problem with anesthesia in the past.

A catheter with wires will be put into an artery or vein in your groin or chest. The catheter will be moved through your blood vessel into your heart. The wires will be placed on certain areas of your heart. The catheter will record the electrical activity of your heart. Your healthcare providers may send electrical signals through the catheter to make abnormal heartbeats.

Your healthcare providers may use the catheter to remove heart tissue that is causing the abnormal heartbeats. This is called ablation. Once your healthcare providers record enough information from your heart, the catheter will be removed. A bandage will cover the area where the catheter was put in.

You will be taken to a room to rest until you are fully awake. Your healthcare providers will monitor you closely for any problems. You will need to lie still with your leg straight for about two hours. Do not get out of bed until your healthcare provider says it is okay. When your healthcare provider sees that you are okay, you will be able to go home. If you are staying in the hospital, you will be taken to your hospital room.

• You cannot make it to your procedure.
• You have a fever.
• You feel dizzy or lightheaded.
• You feel new or more palpitations in your chest, neck or throat.
• You have questions or concerns about your procedure.

Seek Care Immediately If:

• Your symptoms get worse.

During cardiac electrophysiology studies you may have abnormal heart rhythms that make you dizzy or lightheaded. Blood clots sometimes can form at the tip of the catheter, break off and block a blood vessel and infection, bleeding and bruising at the site where the catheter went in (groin, arm or neck) may develop.

The procedure is minimally invasive. It may permanently interrupt the triggers of the heart arrhythmia; many patients require no further treatment. For some patients, it brings freedom from long-term use of blood-thinning medications. Recovery is relatively fast; most patients leave the hospital after one or two days and resume normal activities a few days after the procedure.