Ways to Give
The Central Maine Heart & Vascular Institute (CMHVI), which is part of Central Maine Healthcare, recently added two new cardiac electrophysiologists to its team.
Cardiac electrophysiology is a subspecialty of cardiology that focuses on the heart’s electrical system and on diagnosing, treating and managing arrhythmias.
Parts of rural Maine have among the highest rates of atrial fibrillation (AFib) in the U.S. CMHVI’s electrophysiology program offers the people of central Maine expert and comprehensive care to treat this conditon.
Dionyssios Robotis, MD, has 25 years of experience as a clinical cardiac electrophysiologist, which includes positions at UMass Memorial Medical Center and the Brooklyn VA Medical Center in New York.
Dr. Robotis earned his medical degree at Medical School of the University of Athens, Greece. He completed his Internal Medicine and Chief Medical residency at New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens, New York. His cardiovascular fellowship training was done at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, and he completed his cardiac electrophysiology fellowship training at the University of Rochester in New York.
He says the process of identifying the source of cardiovascular issues, in particular, is what interested him in electrophysiology. “I found it to be a very intellectually challenging part of cardiology-to not only diagnose different rhythm problems but to try to find the origin and then solve the problem,” Robotis said.
Joseph Dell’Orfano, MD, is also an electrophysiologist. He earned his medical degree and completed his residency at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Dr. Dell’Orfano completed his electrophysiology training at the M.S. Hershey Medical Center at Penn State University. He practiced for 22 years at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut where he was the regional director of Electrophysiology. He built programs including atrial fibrillation ablation, ventricular tachycardia ablation and he started their Watchman Program to offer patients an alternative to anticoagulation for the prevention of stroke.
“There are two parts to an office visit,” Dr. Dell’Orfano said. “First, listening, so that I can understand the issue. Then, I spend time teaching the patient about their arrhythmia and treatment options in a way that makes sense and is understandable.”
“Both of these doctors bring a tremendous amount of experience and expertise in electrophysiology to the table, and this community is very fortunate to have them,” said Michael Berlowitz, MD, chief of CMHVI. “They are leaders in their field.”
Central Maine Healthcare this month is recognizing American Heart Month, a time to focus on heart disease which is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States.
