“Based on this multi-million dollar investment, we’ve combined technology, technique, and specialized expertise to provide our patients with the highest-quality care,” said Phil Wolfe, president and CEO of Gwinnett Medical Center. “Our patients can feel assured they’ve chosen a facility that offers numerous options for treating cardiac arrhythmia, as well as experts who can tailor those treatments for personalized care.” A quivering or irregular heartbeat, also known as an arrhythmia, can lead to annoying palpitations, a racing heart and more serious complications like blood clots, stroke and heart failure. The most common heart irregularity, or cardiac arrhythmia, is called atrial fibrillation (AFib) and is due to a malfunction in the heart’s electrical system. According to the American Heart Association, an estimated 2.7 million Americans are living with such difficulties. As our population ages, the AFib epidemic is expected to worsen. If not diagnosed early and treated, it can lead to a devastating diagnosis, says Niraj Sharma, M.D., a GMC cardiologist and medical director of electrophysiology.
Cardiac treatment options expand in North Metro Atlanta/pg.2
Some of the electrophysiology services offered at GMC-Lawrenceville include:
• Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy
• Catheter Ablations
• Electrophysiology Study
• Internal Cardiac Defibrillator Placement
• Pacemaker Implantation
• Subcutaneous Internal Cardiac Defibrillator (SICD) Placement
“GMC’s commitment to treating cardiac patients and, more specifically, those with heart arrhythmias has been highly impressive,” said Dr. Sharma. His expertise played a key role in the program’s development, including the selection of the most up-to-date equipment available and creation of processes.
According to Dr. Sharma, the equipment was selected with the patient in mind. “The EP X-ray equipment has a unique sensitivity; it provides ultra-low dose imaging. Furthermore because it optimizes multiple cameras at once, the patient’s procedure time is reduced.” GMC’s highly advanced 3-D mapping systems provide precise topography of the heart. This allows cardiologist to easily pinpoint the arrhythmia, especially in the case of AFib, so the problem is quickly eliminated, thus reducing complications and promoting a very precise diagnosis.
About Gwinnett Medical Center Gwinnett Medical Center is a nationally-recognized, not-for-profit healthcare network with acute-care hospitals in Lawrenceville and Duluth. Offering cardiovascular, orthopedic and neuroscience specialty care as well as a full continuum of wellness services, GMC’s 4,800 associates and 800 affiliated physicians serve more than 400,000 patients annually. To learn more about how GMC is transforming healthcare, visit gwinnettmedicalcenter.org or follow us at facebook.com/gwinnettmedical, twitter.com/gwinnettmedical or youtube.com/gwinnettmedical.
