Contact
Private lecturer Dr. med. Benjamin Schäffer
Senior Physician, Electrophysiology, Albertinen Cardiovascular Center
Vita
Dr. Benjamin Schaeffer has been Head of the Electrophysiology Department at the Albertinen Hospital and Evangelisches Amalie Sieveking Krankhaus since June 2022. Before that, he worked as a Senior Physician in Cardiology at Asklepios Klinic St. Georg. Dr. Schaeffer completed his specialist training at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, where he also completed his doctorate and later my habilitation. A research grant enabled Dr. Schaeffer to spend a year abroad at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA, USA. The focus of his work is the interventional treatment of arrhythmias using catheter ablation.
1983 | born in Essen, married, two children |
2020 - 2023 | Habilitation on the topic "Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation and complex atrial tachycardias – optimization of mapping and ablation in interventional treatment". In the subject of internal medicine with a focus on cardiology at the Medical Faculty of the University of Hamburg |
2019 - 2020 | Training as a Resident Physician, University Heart Center Hamburg, Clinic for Cardiology, specialist in internal medicine and cardiology 2020 |
2017 - 2018 | Research fellow, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, USA |
2011 - 2016 | Training as a Resident Physician, University Heart Center Hamburg, Clinic for Cardiology |
2009 - 2014 | Doctoral dissertation on the topic: About the formation of a functional syncytium in engineered heart tissue (EHT), University of Hamburg |
2004 - 2011 | Studies in human medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf |
Professional background
since 2022 | Head of Electrophysiology at Albertinen Hospital and the Evangelisches Amalie Sieveking Krankhaus locations |
2021 - 2022 | Senior Physician, Clinic for Cardiology and Internal Intensive Care Medicine, Asklepios Klinik St. Georg, Hamburg |
2019 - 2020 | Training as a Resident Physician, Clinic for Cardiology, specialist in internal medicine and cardiology, University Heart Center Hamburg |
2011 - 2017 | Training as a Resident Physician, Clinic for Cardiology, specialist in internal medicine and cardiology, University Heart Center Hamburg |
Focus
Special professional qualifications
-
2022: Additional qualification in special rhythmology: Invasive electrophysiology Expertise in radiation protection
-
2021: Expertise in radiation protection
-
2019: Advanced course for examiners/deputies in clinical trials according to German Medical Products Act (Arzneimittelgesetz, AMG)
Teaching assignment/Positions/Functions/Memberships
-
Member: German Society of Cardiology (DGK)
-
Member: Electrophysiology and Rhythmology Working Group (AGEP) of the DGK
Selected publications
-
Maurer T, Flindt M, Jularic M, Lemes C, Akbulak-Stegli RÖ, Gunawardene MA, Hartmann J, Eickholt C, Willems S, Schäffer B. A novel wide-band dielectric imaging system to guide radiofrequency ablation for pulmonary vein isolation. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2022 Dec;33(12):2467-2472
-
Gunawardene MA, Eickholt C, Akbulak RÖ, Jularic M, Klatt N, Hartmann J, Schlüter M, Meyer C, Willems S, Schaeffer B. Ultra-high-density mapping of conduction gaps and atrial tachycardias: Distinctive patterns following pulmonary vein isolation with cryoballoon or contact-force-guided radiofrequency current. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2020 May; 31(5): 1051-1061
-
Schaeffer B, Tanigawa S, Nakamura T, Muthalaly RG, Sapp J, John R, Ghidoli D, Pellegrini C, Tedrow C, Stevenson WG. Characteristics of Myocardial Tissue Staining and Lesion Creation with an Infusion-Needle Ablation Catheter for Treatment of Ventricular Tachycardia in Humans. Heart Rhythm. 2020 Mar; 17(3): 398-405
-
Schaeffer B*, Akbulak RÖ*, Jularic M, Moser J, Eickholt C, Schwarzl JM, Klatt N, Kuklik P, Meyer C, Willems S. High-Density Mapping and Ablation of Primary Nonfocal Left Atrial Tachycardia: Characterizing a Distinct Arrhythmogenic Substrate. JACC. Clinical electrophysiology. 2019; 5(4): 417-426
-
Stevenson WG, Tedrow UB, Reddy V, AbdelWahab A, Dukkipati S, John RM, Fujii A, Schaeffer B, Tanigawa S, Elsokkari I, Koruth J, Nakamura T, Naniwadekar A, Ghidoli D, Pellegrini C, Sapp JL. Infusion Needle Radiofrequency Ablation for Treatment of Refractory Ventricular Arrhythmias. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019 Apr 2;73(12):1413-1425. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2018.12.070. PMID: 30922472
-
Schaeffer B, Willems S, Meyer C, Lüker J, Akbulak R, Moser J, Jularic M, Eickholt C, Schwarzl J, Gunawardene M, Kuklik P, Sultan A, Hoffmann B, Steven D. Contact force facilitates the achievement of an unexcitable ablation line during pulmonary vein isolation. Clin Res Cardiol. 2018; 107(8): 632-641
-
Schaeffer B, Rüden L, Salzbrunn T, Pinnschmidt H, Akbulak R, Moser J, Jularic M, Meyer C, Eickholt C, Sultan A, Lüker J, Steven D, Willems S, Hoffmann B. Incidence of intracardiac thrombus formation prior to electrical cardioversion in respect to the mode of oral anticoagulation. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2018; 29(4): 537-547.
-
Schaeffer B, Hoffmann BA, Meyer C, Akbulak RÖ, Moser J, Jularic M, Eickholt C, Nührich J, Kuklik P, Willems S. Characterization, Mapping and Ablation of Complex Atrial Tachycardia: Initial Experience with a Novel Method of Ultra High-Density 3D Mapping. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2016; 27: 1139-1150.
-
Schaeffer B, Willems S, Sultan A, Hoffmann BA, Lüker J, Schreiber D, Akbulak R, Moser J, Kuklik P, Steven D. Loss of Pace Capture on the Ablation Line During Pulmonary Vein Isolation versus "Dormant Conduction": Is Adenosine Expendable? J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. 2015 Oct; 26(10):1075-1080.
-
Schaeffer B, Rybczynski M, Sheikhzadeh S, Akbulak RÖ, Moser J, Jularic M, Schreiber D, Daubmann A, Willems S, von Kodolitsch Y, Hoffmann BA. Heart rate turbulence and deceleration capacity for risk prediction of serious arrhythmic events in Marfan syndrome. Clin Res Cardiol. 2015 Dec; 104(12): 1054-1063.