May 2010

The most important developments in interventional cardiac electrophysiology in the past 5 years are the expansion of catheter ablation to complex arrhythmias and cardiac resynchronization therapy delivered through implantable cardiac devices. Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia associated with structural heart disease has continued to evolve and is a standard tool in our “toolbox” to treat these arrhythmias. The evolution of catheter ablation has been facilitated by improvements in technology, particularly 3D mapping, and gains in knowledge of arrhythmia mechanisms and arrhythmia substrates. Cardiac resynchronization therapy delivered through implantable cardiac devices have also revolutionized our ability to, not only improve the survival of certain patients with severe congestive heart failure, but to actually improve their quality of life. It’s an extremely exciting time for interventional cardiac electrophysiology due to our ability now to treat and potentially cure almost all forms of cardiac arrhythmias. And, being at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, we are fortunate to be in clinical and academic environment that fosters and sustains clinical excellence and investigations at the cutting edge of arrhythmia diagnosis and treatment.

 

Although the University of Chicago Hospitals is a pretty large institution, NMH is still a much larger place and it’s eye-opening to join a Section of Cardiology with over twice as many faculty. I still haven’t had the opportunity to meet all the faculty in my own section. The EP community is Chicago is pretty small and I have always had the utmost respect for the cardiology department at NU. Since starting at NU, my initial impressions of the clinical and research excellence of NU have only been confirmed.

 

I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin. Currently I live in Hinsdale, IL with my wife and two rambunctious sons, ages 8 and 3. I came from the University of Chicago where I attended medical school and did my housestaff as well as fellowship training. Subsequently, I joined the faculty at Loyola University and became the Director of the EP labs at Loyola before leaving for private practice for two years before returning to the University of Chicago.

 

 

Clinical interests: Applying catheter ablation and new technologies for catheter ablation of complex arrhythmias offers new hope and modalities for tackling arrhythmias in a coherent, effective, and safe way that was previously unimaginable just 10-20 years ago.

Hobbies: Golf, scuba diving (whenever possible), reef aquariums. Favorite place to dive: Palau and Little Cayman Island.