Specialty: Cardiac Electrophysiology
Special Expertise: Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology
Board Certified: Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology; Cardiovascular Diseases; Advanced Heart Failure And Transplant Cardiology
Hospital Affiliations: Delray Medical Center, Bethesda Memorial Hospital
When you are in love, your heart may “skip a beat.” But, if it skips one too many times, then you may be suffering from atrial fibrillation, or AFib.
Yoel R. Vivas, M.D., F.H.R.S., founder of The Arrhythmia Center of South Florida in Delray Beach, has been treating abnormalities of the heart’s rhythm since 2010. He has a vast amount of experience in the treatment of all forms of AFib, a common form of heart arrhythmia.
“We see patients who are young, middle-aged and older with this condition,” says Dr. Vivas, one of the few arrhythmia specialists in the world who isa fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society. “Patients can feel fatigued, short of breath and have a rapid heartbeat. It can really impair their quality of life.”
“The No. 1 risk factor is age,” says Dr. Vivas, who adds that patients may suffer from cognitive decline as a result of AFib. “As we get older, the heart suffers from structural changes that make patients more susceptible.”
Because no two patients are alike, he creates an individualized treatment plan to achieve the best result.
“I individualize the treatment options based on the patient’s clinical characteristics,” he says. “Sometimes, medications or an electrical shock to control atrial fibrillation do not work. In those cases, I offer cardiac ablation, a procedure that corrects electrical signals that cause an abnormal heart rhythm.”
Another area of Dr. Vivas’ unique expertise is physiologic pacing. Unlike standard pacemakers, physiologic pacing is a technique in which wires that mimic the normal electrical conduction of the heart are placed in special areas of the organ.
“In the past, pacemakers were put in standard places, and they did not mimic the normal electrical activity of the heart,” says Dr. Vivas. “By implanting these physiologic pacemakers, we can prevent the development of cardiomyopathy and heart failure.”