Pediatric and congenital arrhythmia program (PCA)

The Pediatric and Congenital Arrhythmia Program follows more than 300 children and young adults with arrhythmias and implanted devices and offers expertise in the management of dizziness, syncope, and palpitations. A full range of diagnostic services are offered through the program, including electrocardiograms, Holter monitoring, transtelephonic recording, and pacemaker and defibrillator services.

Consultations are available 24 hours per day, seven days per week. A dedicated fax line is available to assist in emergent electrocardiogram interpretation.

Procedures are performed in the electrophysiology lab at Children’s, the only dedicated pediatric electrophysiology lab in the upper Midwest. State-of-the-art equipment includes advanced three-dimensional mapping, radiofrequency and cryoablation technology for arrhythmia therapies.

Specific services offered by the PCA Program include:

• In-office consultations. Consultations focus on symptoms and determining a management strategy.
• EKG testing. EKG testing is the basic approach to evaluation of rhythm problems and is available in our office or via 24-hour fax interpretation from your office or clinic.
• Holter monitor services. Holter testing is a multichannel analysis of rhythm problems over a 24-hour period. This service is available in our office or can be provided through your clinic and interpreted by Children’s Heart Clinic cardiologists.
• Event recorder services. A 30-day portable monitor can be useful to evaluate periodic symptoms that do not occur daily. Transtelephonic transmission is available to evaluate heart rhythms during symptoms.
• Electrophysiology studies. Invasive multi-catheter electrical studies are available and are designed to evaluate and diagnose rhythm disturbances, treat with catheter ablation if indicated, and determine risk stratification for high risk patients.
• Catheter ablation. This therapeutic procedure combines with electrophysiology study for children and young adults with a wide variety of arrhythmias.
• Pacemaker implantation and follow-up. Pacemakers are implanted by our electrophysiologists at Children’s. Single, dual, and biventricular implants with clinic follow-up are available. Combined office and Internet follow-up now is routinely performed for most patients. Skilled technologists assist our physicians.
• Tilt table testing. This autonomic test is performed to evaluate some forms of vasovagal syncope. A cardiac referral is required prior to testing.

The pediatric electrophysiology program at Children’s Minnesota is the only dedicated program for ablations, pacemaker and device implantation in children in the Upper Midwest. Catheter ablation outcomes at Children’s rank among the highest in the nation.