Saint Raphael Healthcare System

For years, physicians have used catheters – long narrow tubes — to locate and treat heart rhythm abnormalities with only the most minimal incisions. During these procedures, catheters are inserted into a small incision in the groin and guided through blood vessels to the heart. X-ray images help the physician follow the vessels’ paths.

With the new Stereotaxis Magnetic Navigation System, a magnetic field helps the physician guide the catheter toward the heart more quickly and more efficiently. Each Sterotaxis catheter contains a magnetic tip that the physician moves through the body by using external magnets on either side of the procedure table; a digital remote control; and a 3-D computerized software system that shows the patient’s blood vessel paths.

Like the way a compass needle aligns itself with the Earth’s magnetic field, the catheter’s magnetic tip aligns itself with the magnetic field surrounding the patient.

Saint Raphael’s is the first Connecticut hospital – and one of fewer than two dozen in the country — to use the system, which many health experts believe is one of the most exciting new technologies available. “It allows physicians to more accurately guide catheters into hard-to-reach areas of the heart, and it’s much quicker than manually working a catheter, which can involve some bending and twisting,” says Saint Raphael Cardiology Section Chief Thomas Donohue, M.D.

Once in the heart, the magnetic catheter emits electronic signals that identify the defective heart tissue causing the arrhythmia. “All this adds up to even more accurate diagnoses and improved patient outcomes,” Donohue adds.

At Saint Raphael’s, this inpatient procedure is performed in the Dr. Phillip R. Fazzone Catheterization Unit. Parts of the unit were recently remodeled to accommodate the equipment.

Cardiac arrhythmias are each year responsible for more than 300,000 deaths in the United States. They can range in severity from entirely benign to immediately life-threatening, causing the heart to beat too fast, too slow or irregularly. The two most common forms of the condition are:

tachycardia: when the heart beats too fast, at more than 100 beats per minute; and

bradycardia: when the heart beats too slow, at less than 60 beats per minute.

Either form can come without any outward, noticeable symptoms. In many people, symptoms include dizziness, fainting, unusual awareness of the heartbeat, and sensations of fluttering or pounding in the chest. Anyone who suspects an arrhythmia should contact his or her physician immediately.

“We’re one of only three hospitals on the East Coast to have this magnetic guidance system and proud to be on the front end of the technology curve,” says Saint Raphael Healthcare System President and CEO David W. Benfer, F.A.C.H.E.

And it’s only appropriate Saint Raphael’s has this technology. With the highest electrophysiology volume in the state, the hospital has been nationally recognized for its skilled physicians and dedication to offering the most sophisticated heart care. Indeed, Saint Raphael’s helped advance heart failure care as a national clinical trial site for the now-FDA-approved InSync ICD biventricular pacing system. This small, implantable device sends electronic impulses that help a weak heart muscle beat regularly and pump blood efficiently.

This dedication to providing patients with the most sophisticated heart technology – along with the most compassionate care – has led to the Hospital of Saint Raphael being named a top 100 hospital for cardiovascular care for the second consecutive year.

The recognition came in late 2004 with the release of “100 Top Hospitals: Cardiovascular Benchmarks for Success” from Solucient, the respected Illinois-based healthcare information organization. The report recognized Saint Raphael’s in the “Teaching Hospitals with Cardiovascular Residencies” category, with information collected from Solucient’s hospital database and the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) data set. More than 6,000 U.S. hospitals were evaluated.

“We pride ourselves on having one of the most comprehensive and sophisticated programs in the state,” says Charles Riordan, M.D., Saint Raphael’s vice president of medical affairs. “Being named to this list for a second straight year illustrates our dedication to providing patients with the best care possible.”

The Sterotaxis magnetic system is the latest advancement to Saint Raphael’s Cardiac Institute, the hospital’s center for advancing cardiac care.