Samuel J. Asirvatham, M.D.

Samuel J. Asirvatham, M.D., is a consultant electrophysiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. After completing medical school at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, his internship was at the Columbia University Hospital in New York City.

Following residency and chief residency at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he did his clinical cardiac and electrophysiology training at the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City.

Dr. Asirvatham is currently a professor of medicine and vice chair of the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Medicine, as well as a consultant in cardiac electrophysiology in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

He is also program director for the Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Training Program at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Focus areas

Dr. Asirvatham's research and innovation interests include:

• Development of a percutaneous epicardial system to close the left atrial appendage
• Renal nerve stimulation for the treatment of neurocardiogenic syncope
• Development of a novel circuit to prevent coagulum formation during radiofrequency ablation procedures
• Specifically designed and created tools to allow electrophysiology mapping and ablation through the veins of the central nervous system to treat seizures and other central nervous system disorders

Significance to patient care

One of the primary goals of Dr. Asirvatham's clinical research is improving quality of life and patient care.

Current research projects include solutions to neurocardiogenic syncope by utilizing pacing in the renal vein to increase blood pressure and prevent syncope; epilepsy and other central nervous system disorders by mapping and ablation of the central nervous system; and stroke and thromboembolic events in atrial fibrillation patients and atrial fibrillation patients after ablation through left atrial ligation/obliteration and coagulum reduction, and investigating the possible link of stroke events with cardiac device leads.