Electrophysiologists in Kansas City

We work to restore your heart to a healthy rhythm and get you back to your life. At HCA Midwest Health hospitals, our electrophysiologists specialize in expertly diagnosing and treating heartbeat irregularities. With personalized care that fits your heart's unique needs, our team can help you control and eliminate arrhythmias so you can thrive.

Our cardiac care team includes board-certified electrophysiologists — doctors with heart electrical activity expertise. Our hospitals offer advanced cardiac diagnostic technology to track heart arrhythmias as they occur, which helps your doctors form accurate diagnoses and develop comprehensive, personalized treatment plans that extend to managing your long-term health.

If you would like more information about our services for heart arrhythmias, you can call us at (816) 823-0668.

Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute

The electrophysiology heart rhythm specialists at Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute are thoroughly trained in solving the most complex arrhythmias and are highly experienced in the most advanced procedures available.

Learn more about Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute

Causes of arrhythmia

Arrhythmias can be caused by a variety of things, some of which are unknown. However, our teams specialize in helping you identify common lifestyle factors and congenital health conditions that can increase your risk of developing a heart rhythm disorder. Some of these factors and conditions include:

  • Caffeine or nicotine use
  • Diabetes
  • Drinking too much alcohol
  • Hypertension (high blood pressure)
  • Medications, drugs and supplements
  • Obesity
  • Sleep apnea
  • Smoking

Types of arrhythmias we treat

Arrhythmias can refer to heartbeats that are irregularly fast (tachycardia), slow (bradycardia) or just out of the ordinary (or unexpected). We treat all types of arrhythmias, including:

Inappropriate sinus tachycardia

Our physicians are international leaders in pioneering new research that helps doctors all over the world better diagnose and treat inappropriate sinus tachycardia (IST). 

IST is a condition where the heart beats rapidly for no known reason. People with IST commonly have a resting heart rate greater than 100 beats per minute, or their average heart rate is greater than 90 beats per minute at rest. Other people with IST may experience a normal heart rate when resting, but it shoots up quickly during light physical activity.

IST sometimes begins after an individual has an infection from a virus. Additional potential triggers can include anxiety, anemia, heart attack, lung disease, overactive thyroid and very low blood pressure. Our heart arrhythmia specialists offer surgical and non-surgical treatments for patients to help manage IST.

Kristiana’s story

Since 14 years old, North Carolina resident Kristiana Rigney’s health journey has been grueling: three hip surgeries, with the most recent procedure three years ago. During post-surgical rehab, she recognized a pattern of feeling out of breath, and was unable to walk on the treadmill or progress in therapy. After “normal” at-home activities left the 20-year-old feeling fatigued, she was referred to a cardiologist and saw six subspecialty physicians in three states — North Carolina, Minnesota and Tennessee — hoping to find a resolution to improve her quality of life. Her mother, Jennifer, canvassed medical journals and found HCA Midwest Health physician Dr. DJ Lakkireddy.

Learn more about Kristiana’s journey:

Diagnosing arrhythmias

Common symptoms of an arrhythmia to look out for include chest pain, dizziness, heart palpitations, racing heart or shortness of breath. When diagnosing an arrhythmia, our teams of electrophysiologists use advanced technologies to evaluate your heart from every angle.

By taking a comprehensive approach to diagnostic and imaging tests, the specialists at HCA Midwest Health are able to provide a customized diagnosis and a personalized treatment plan. HCA Midwest Health offers advanced cardiac tests for diagnosing irregular heartbeats and assessing how well treatments are working. Testing for arrhythmias may include:

  • Cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) scan
  • Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
  • Exercise stress test
  • Holter monitoring
  • Implantable loop monitor
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
  • Tilt table testing

Electrophysiology (EP) studies

An EP study is conducted to assess your heart's electrical system to diagnose a possible arrhythmia. To do this, a special moving X-ray called "fluoroscopy" is used to guide catheters and wired electrodes through your blood vessels and into your heart. Once there, electrical activity can be measured to determine the cause of your arrhythmia by creating a detailed map of the signals that move between each of your heartbeats.

Treating arrhythmias

If an arrhythmia is left untreated, blood clots could form in the heart and block blood flow, making it a notable stroke risk factor. Depending on the type of arrhythmia you’re diagnosed with, your treatment may include medication, cardiac ablation, advanced surgery or a combination of the three.

Specialists on the medical staff at HCA Midwest Health can treat a variety of arrhythmias and heart rhythm disorders with various procedures, including minimally invasive options.

  • Cardioversion  involves a prescribed electrical energy shock used to convert the abnormal heart rhythm.
  • Catheter ablation  delivers radiofrequency energy directly to the area causing the rhythm problem. It can be used to treat AFib, AV nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT), VT and Wolff-Parkinson White syndrome.
  • Cryoballoon ablation is a minimally invasive procedure that uses a catheter to treat the electrical triggers that are causing an irregular heartbeat.
  • Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and pacemakers are battery-operated devices that are implanted under the skin to help regulate heart rhythm.
  • Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) implant  reduces AFib stroke risk and may eliminate the need for blood thinners if you are experiencing non-valvular AFib.
  • Left atrial appendage ligation is a noninvasive procedure that can help reduce the risk of stroke when you are unable to take blood thinners.
  • Radiofrequency ablation is considered the "gold standard" for treating AFib and uses radiofrequency to ensure cells are unable to electrically conduct irregular signals through the heart.
  • Sinus node sparing hybrid ablation is an innovative procedure where an electrophysiologist partners with a cardiac surgeon to perform this ablation to treat and cure inappropriate sinus tachycardia.