Dr. Uma Srivatsa, associate professor of cardiovascular medicine for UCDMC
Arrhythmias (irregular or erratic heart rhythms) can lead to heart failure, stroke or cardiac arrest. That’s why cardiologists at UC Davis Medical Center aim to treat it efficiently and completely with a remotely operated magnet-guided catheter system — the first of its kind to be used in the Sacramento area.
Here, Dr. Uma Srivatsa, associate professor of cardiovascular medicine for UCDMC, performs catheter manipulation and mapping inside the patient’s heart and vascular system — from an entirely separate room — with the use of a computer-operated joystick.This allows her to visualize how electricity travels through the heart and, in most cases, provide treatment.
“The primary benefits of the system are increased precision, the opportunity to both examine and treat patients during the same procedure, and the opportunity to see important clinical information on one large screen,” Srivatsa says. The procedure is also safer for both the medical team and the patient, because the magnets reduce the radiation involved with traditional methods.
While in the procedure room, cardiologist Dr. Uma Srivatsa uses a robotic magnet-guided catheter system, with the help of the electrophysiology team, to identify the structures, electrical voltage and activation pattern of the patient’s abnormal heartbeat.
While the patient is anesthetized, Srivatsa threads a thin catheter with electrodes at the tip through a vein or artery into the patient’s heart.
A large, high-resolution monitor shows images of the heart from the catheter, along with continuous EKG results.
“It’s especially gratifying to treat patients in our minimally invasive cardiology lab, which has the resources it takes to fix many problems with the electrical activity of the heart,” Srivatsa says.
Untouched Heart
Cardiologists at UC Davis Medical Center are treating heart disease with a remotely operated magnet-guided catheter system.