St. David’s Medical Center first to use new cardiac mapping system to treat heart arrhythmias

The Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute (TCAI) at St. David’s Medical Center in Austin, Texas, is the first facility in the nation to use a new platform designed to treat heart rhythms and arrhythmias.

The medical center announced in a Feb. 6 press release that it performed its first procedure using the platform back in December. Branded the EnSite Precision, the cardiac mapping system treats ventricular tachycardia, supraventricular tachycardia and premature ventricular contraction. It provides automation, flexibility and accuracy for diagnostic mapping used in ablation procedures.

The system was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Dec. 15, 2016, and received CE Marking in January.

Amin Al-Ahmad, MD, a cardiac electrophysiologist at TCAI, treated the first ventricular tachycardia and supraventricular tachycardia cases, while Jason Zagrodzky, MD, also an electrophysiologist at TCAI, treated the first premature ventricular contraction case.

The EnSite system allows physicians to easily map electrical information from the heart because it provides highly detailed anatomical models that enable accurate diagnosis of a range of arrhythmias.

"Advanced cardiac mapping is a complex task, and this technology allows us to further improve accuracy and speed, ultimately resulting in better outcomes and improved quality of life for our patients," Andrea Natale, MD, a cardiac electrophysiologist and the executive medical director of TCAI, said in a statement. "We continuously strive to reach higher standards of excellence in care, and we are committed to providing the most state-of-the art tools to allow doctors to find and treat problems quickly, efficiently and safely using the least invasive methods.”