It is the English abbreviation of a diagnostic examination called Electrophysiological Study (EPS). This examination is used in the diagnosis of diseases of the heart's rhythm and conduction system. This procedure may be needed to investigate palpitations, fainting, or some disorders detected in other heart examinations. The basis of the procedure is to record electrical signals from inside the heart through electrode catheters sent to the heart through peripheral vascular access and to reveal rhythm disturbances that may cause palpitations by giving small electrical stimulations. The procedure is roughly similar to coronary angiography from the outside.
Here, the procedure begins with the patient being admitted to the hospital, preparing for the procedure, and being brought to the laboratory where procedures such as angiography are performed. Usually, local drugs are used to enter the veins passing through the groin (in angiography, the artery in the same area is entered), and special materials (electrode catheter) containing wires and covered with plastic-like materials are placed into the heart through the provided pathways.
Then, recordings are taken from various points inside the heart through these catheters, and small electrical stimulations are given to try to reveal the rhythm disorder that may cause the patient to complain of palpitations. The entire process takes 20-30 minutes. There is no general anesthesia (no anesthesia) during the procedure. Only the groin area is anesthetized locally. However, in very excited and anxious patients, additional sedative drugs can be given intravenously. After the procedure, the patient is sent to his bed. He can go home between 6 and 12 hours. As a result of the procedure, it is determined whether a rhythm disorder is causing the patient's palpitations, if so, what type of rhythm disorder it is, whether the cause of their fainting is a heart-related cause, and whether there is a vital disorder in the electrical system of the heart.
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