ABSTRACT

Cardiac electrophysiology study (EPS) is an invasive procedure performed for diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. The aim of our study was to assess our 6-year EPS experience and to compare our data with the complication rate published in the literature.

We included 1152 patients who were diagnosed and treated for cardiac arrhythmia in our hospital between 2000-2006. The demographic data of all patients with a presumptive diagnosis of arrhythmia, EPS indications, treatment procedures, and complications were recorded.

Six hundred and seventy-three of 1152 (58%) patients enrolled in the study were males with a mean age of 49.6 years, and 479 (42%) were females with a mean age of 48 years. One hundred and fifty-six (13.5%) patients had bradyarrhythmia, 596 (51.8%) patients had supraventricular tachycardia, 400 (34.7%) had ventricular tachycardia. One patient had complete AV block, one patient had hemopericardium, one patient had pericardial tamponade, one patient had pneumothorax, one patient had right thrombophlebitis one patient had sheath fracture, and one patient died after left popliteal embolization. Total mortality rate was 0.6%.

The EPS performed in experienced centers with the same team for a long period of time results in low complication rate.

Keywords: Arrhythmia, electrophysiological study, cardiac complication