Electrophysiology Services at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center

Electrophysiology (EP) is a sub-specialty of cardiovascular medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of heart rhythm problems.  Advocate BroMenn Medical Center offers the area’s only
full-time electrophysiologist and a dedicated EP lab.

In Advocate BroMenn Medical Center’s new,fully-integrated electrophysiology lab, we offer adult patients a full complement of diagnostic and treatment technologies, including:

• Catheter ablation, a procedure that uses long catheter tubes to correct structural problems in the heart that cause abnormal heart rhythms;
• Cryoablation, a mimimally invasive catheter approach that freezes tissue in the heart's upper chamber to block the electrical signals that trigger erratic heart rhythms;
• Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICD), a pager-sized device that is implanted in a patient’s chest that monitors heartbeat and provides an electrical impulse to restore a
  normal rhythm, when necessary;
• Bi-ventricular devices for resynchronization of the heart’s rhythm;
• Permanent pacemaker implants, a small device placed under the skin near the heart to help regulate slow heartbeat;
• Cardioversion, a procedure that uses electrical impulses to restore a heart to a normal rhythm;
• Tilt table studies for patients who have episodes of loss of consciousness.

The EP lab includes bi-plane imaging, which allows the electrophysiologist to have a two-dimensional view of the heart. This means patients are on the table for a shorter length of time and receive less radiation from the imaging. The lab also has a unique ultrasound device that allows a direct visualization of the structures inside the heart, thus adding to the accuracy and safety of these procedures.

Ashok Koul, MD, FACC, with Advocate Medical Group’s Illinois Heart and Lung Associates (IHLA), is the primary user of the EP lab. He has been a practicing electrophysiologist since 2003 and joined Advocate Medical Group in 2010.

For an appointment with Dr. Koul, talk to your primary care physician, or call 309.3ADVOCATE (local) or 800.3ADVOCATE (toll-free).