What is an EP study?
An electrophysiology (EP) study is a diagnostic test performed to determine the exact nature of the heart racing problem. It is not a surgery since there are no incisions and no stitches. The doctor numbs up the skin in the crease of the leg and/or near the collar bones or the side of the neck. IVs are then placed into the blood vessels: usually just the veins but occasionally the arteries. Through these IVs, long tubes that look like pieces of spaghetti are inserted and using an x-ray camera pushed within the blood vessels until they enter the heart. They are then leaned against the inner lining of the heart at strategic locations to record the spark of electricity that makes the heart beat. The using a special computer pacemaker outside the body, the doctor can speed the heart up and put in extra beats to start as well as stop the heart racing. An EP study gives the doctor the most complete information about why the heart is racing; for example which specific type of heart racing is
