November 2004

Mapping the heart for better treatment

A new diagnostic machine is improving the diagnosis and treatment of Austin Health’s cardiac patients by providing cardiologists with a three-dimensional map of the heart.

Cardiologist Dr David O’Donnell said the EnSite cardiac mapping machine helped specialists determine whether a patient’s heart condition should be treated with medication or surgery.

Certain types of rhythm disorders, caused by small areas of abnormal heart tissue, interrupt the heart’s normal electrical system.

The cardiac mapping machine allows precise targeting and imaging of that abnormal tissue, allowing doctors to diagnose and treat the rhythm disorder.

During the procedure, an electrophysiologist inserts long flexible wire tubes, called electrode catheters, into the heart.

The information is then fed into a computer, which can display a three-dimensional view of the heart chambers in real-time, allowing the electrical activity inside the heart to be assessed.

‘Austin Health is the first hospital in Australia to use the new technology and this major advancement in clinical care replaces less effective and time-consuming procedures for treating complex heart rhythm problems,’ Dr O’Donnell said.

‘I’m hoping more cardiologists will want to use this technology.

‘Heart disease kills 40 per cent of Australians and this machine optimises specialists’ decision-making on treatment options.’

An image from the EnSite cardiac mapping machine.