Intracardiac electrophysiology study (EPS)

During the test, you are awake and able to follow instructions.

The procedure generally lasts from 20 minutes to 1 hour in the case of a simple EPS. It may take longer if other procedures are involved.

Why the test is performed:

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Before performing EPS, which is invasive, your cardiologist will try to identify a suspected arrhythmia using other, less invasive tests like ambulatory cardiac monitoring. If the abnormal rhythm is not detected by these other methods and your symptoms suggest that you have an arrhythmia, EPS may be recommended. Additional reasons that EPS may be considered include:

To find the location of a known arrhythmia and determine the best therapy
To assess the severity of the arrhythmia and determine if you are at risk for future cardiac events, especially sudden cardiac death
To evaluate the effectiveness of medication in controlling an arrhythmia
To determine if the focus (the place from where the arrhythmia is coming) should be ablated
To evaluate the need for a permanent pacemaker or an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD)

If ablation is thought to be the appropriate therapy, it is performed at the time of EPS.