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The Johns Hopkins Electrophysiology Service is the oldest program in the mid-Atlantic, performing nearly 2000 procedures annually, among which are approximately 300 catheter ablations. In addition to the standard, comprehensive procedures, we also participate in clinical trials that allow patients access to new technology. Our staff represents some of the most experienced and skilled physicians, nurses and technologists in the United States.

The Hopkins Electrophysiology Service began in the early 1970s with two goals: to provide leading edge care for patients with arrhythmias and to do research to determine the cause of arrhythmias and develop treatments for patients who have heart rhythm problems.


William Kouwenhoven, Ph.D., the electrical engineer at Johns Hopkins who invented CPR (cardiopulminary resuscitation).

As the first such service in Maryland, and one of the first in the United States, the Johns Hopkins Electrophysiology Service rapidly took on a leadership role. An early success was the development and use of the first automatic implantable defibrillator, also known as implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICDs). In 1980, Dr. Levi Watkins, Jr. first implanted this device, which was invented by Drs. Michel Mirowski and Morton Mower, in a patient who had experienced numerous episodes of life-threatening arrhythmias.

Currently, doctors at the Hopkins Electrophysiology Service are focusing their efforts on catheter ablation. Other areas of interest include the causes and treatment of atrial fibrillation and syncope, and the perfection of pacemaker and ICD therapy.

Johns Hopkins is the birthplace of CPR, developed by the chairman of electrical engineering. The first life-saving effort was performed on a dog, which was instrumented. Shortly thereafter, the first human use of CPR saved the life of a small child. The technique spread rapidly from then.

The Electrophysiology Service offers a wide range of clinical trials that may help your patients. Contact us by using the Hopkins Access Line (HAL) 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at (800) 765-JHHS (5447), or locally, at (410) 955-9444.

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