Pasco News

Regional Medical Center to launch arrhythmia unit

TBO.com
Suncoast News
Published: July 31, 2012

HUDSON - The Arrhythmia Center of Florida has opened to diagnose and treat patients who suffer from cardiac arrhythmia, officials at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point announced.

The center is part of the nationally recognized Heart Institute at the hospital in Hudson, spokesman Kurt Conover said.

While about 1,000 cardiac procedures a year are performed here, the arrhythmia center officially launches this week, Conover said. The hospital is dedicating two labs for the center.

With a state-of-the-art electrophysiology lab and full-service facility, the center is able to diagnose and treat all types of arrhythmia, Conover elaborated in a news release.

An arrhythmia is when the heart's electrical systems do not work properly and the heartbeat becomes too slow, too fast or irregular.

Symptoms of arrhythmia may include a racing or skipping heartbeat, a mild fluttering sensation in the chest, dizziness or fainting, fatigue, difficulty breathing, and/or chest pain.

Each year, more than 850,000 Americans are hospitalized for arrhythmia.

"Having a local full-service facility that's focused solely on treating arrhythmias means patients won't have to go out of the area to receive specialized care," said Julie Lallanilla, the hospital's director of electrophysiology.

Medical Director Luis R. Annoni leads the center's team of six board-certified electrophysiologists, or cardiologists who specialize in arrhythmia. The doctors are Annoni, Rajiva Goyal, Raul Jimenez, Huang-Ta Lin, Darshan V. Patel and Kenneth H. Yamamura.

"For some patients, an arrhythmia may be nothing to worry about. For others, it may be a life-threatening medical condition," Annoni said in a news release. "Anyone experiencing an arrhythmia should see a physician right away."

The center is at 14000 Fivay Road, near the intersection of U.S. 19 and Hudson Avenue.

To learn more about cardiac arrhythmia, diagnostic procedures and treatments, visit the center's website at RMCHealth.com, or call (727) 869-5565 or toll free at (855) 534-4325.