Oleg Yurevich, MD, loves to learn. That’s what drew him to cardiology and to the complex specialty of cardiac electrophysiology (EP). There is always something new to learn. In addition, he finds fulfillment in the immediate impact his care can have on a patient’s health.
“It’s a specialty where you see results right away,” Dr. Yurevich said. “After I ablate someone’s arrhythmia (a procedure to fix irregular heartbeat signals), the patient leaves the EP Lab with a normal heart rate. It feels good for them and for me. You see an immediate effect.”
Dr. Yurevich recently joined Quincy native John Hammock, MD, FACC, FHRS, as a member of Blessing Health’s cardiac EP care team. Dr. Yurevich holds certification from the American Board of Internal Medicine with added certification in cardiovascular disease. He completed a general cardiology fellowship at SUNY (State University of New York) Downstate Health Science University, Brooklyn, and in clinical cardiac electrophysiology at the University of Illinois Chicago.
Dr. Hammock holds certification from the American Board of Internal Medicine with added certification in cardiovascular disease and clinical cardiac electrophysiology. He earned his medical degree from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, completed an internship and residency at the University of Illinois Medical Center, a fellowship at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, and a sub-fellowship in clinical cardiac electrophysiology at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center.
What is EP?
Cardiac electrophysiology is a specialized area of heart care focused on the electrical activities of the heart. The heart sends an electrical signal through the body’s cells in order to regulate heart rate and rhythm.
An irregular heart rhythm is known as an arrhythmia. Complications depend on the type of arrhythmia from which a patient suffers. In general, complications of heart arrhythmias may include stroke, sudden death and heart failure. Heart arrhythmias are associated with an increased risk of blood clots. If a clot breaks loose, it can travel from the heart to the brain, causing a stroke.
An electrophysiologist may diagnose and treat conditions such as:
- Bradycardia, a heartbeat that is too slow.
- Tachycardia, a heartbeat that is too fast.
- Atrial Fibrillation, a quivery, fluttery heartbeat.
- Cardiac Arrest, the sudden stopping of the heart.
- Other arrhythmias and heart disorders.
How Blessing brought this specialized care to the region
For many years, Tri-State area residents with heart rhythm conditions needed to travel hundreds of miles for EP care. When Dr. Hammock joined Blessing Health, leaders knew he had an interest in cardiac electrophysiology. In 2012, Blessing Health administration approached Dr. Hammock with the idea to apply for an EP fellowship to add another level of heart care Blessing could provide to residents of the region.
“As I watched the Blessing Heart & Vascular Center program grow over the years, I noticed an increasing demand for electrophysiology services,” noted Dr. Hammock. “Seeing a substantial number of our patients leaving for things that could be done at Blessing, I thought, ‘I’m only young once. I might as well give it a shot and do one extra year of training.’”
Dr. Hammock was accepted into the clinical cardiac electrophysiology fellowship program at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center. The doctor, his wife and three children moved nearly 600 miles from Quincy to Oklahoma City for a year.
Meanwhile, Blessing leaders set their sights on constructing and equipping a state-of-the-art EP lab and training a team to assist Dr. Hammock in providing this highly-specialized care by the time he completed his fellowship and returned to Quincy with his family.
The missions were accomplished by Dr. Hammock and by Blessing Health. Dr. Hammock and team performed the first EP procedure at Blessing in August 2013. Since that day more than 4,100 other EP-related procedures have been performed in Blessing’s EP Lab.
With a second cardiac electrophysiologist now on staff at Blessing Health, even more people will be able to get this life-changing and life-saving care without having to leave the region.
For more information on Blessing’s heart care, go to blessinghealth.org/heart.