Heart & Vascular Center : Services : Frank P. Tourville Sr. Arrhythmia Center at MUSC

The Frank P. Tourville Sr. Arrhythmia Center at the MUSC Heart and Vascular Center in Charleston, SC, provides comprehensive clinical, research, and education programs to treat the growing incidence of cardiac arrhythmia, which is among the top reasons for hospitalizations in South Carolina and the United States.  The most common form, atrial fibrillation, already has been diagnosed in 2.2 million Americans and is increasing at the rate of about 750,000 cases per year, leading experts to predict 15 million Americans will have atrial fibrillation by 2050.

MUSC has long been recognized as a center for treating cardiac arrhythmias. About 25 percent of our cardiac electrophysiology patients come from outside of South Carolina, including many from throughout the United States and other countries.

MUSC physicians have been instrumental in developing innovative cardiac electrophysiology technologies to diagnose, treat and often cure heart rhythm problems, including cardiac arrhythmias.

Catheter Ablation Procedures

One of the most exciting treatments at MUSC for problems in the top chamber of heart (such as atrial fibrillation) is the catheter ablation procedure.

MUSC’s J. Marcus Wharton, M.D., director of the Tourville Arrhythmia Center, is one of the world’s leading authorities on the catheter ablation procedure and performs it more than anyone else in the Southeast.

MUSC continues to be a leader in cardiac electrophysiology and studies of new technologies for defibrillators for the treatment of arrhythmias. These devices are used to treat cardiac arrhythmias in the bottom parts of the heart, which can be more immediately life threatening.

Pace Makers for Congestive Heart Failure

Another area of cardiac electrophysiology involves the use of pace makers to treat congestive heart failure.

MUSC’s Michael R. Gold, M.D., chief of the Division of Cardiology at MUSC, participated in the first studies and implants of pace makers in humans.

The Arrhythmia Center team also includes Robert B. Leman, M.D., director of Adult Electrophysiology and Arrhythmia Control, J. Lacy Sturdivant, M.D., and Frank A. Cuoco Jr., M.D.