Dr. Jason Rytlewski was born and raised in the small midwestern town of Midland, Mich., before entering the chemical engineering program at the University of Michigan. Upon graduating from the School of Engineering, Dr. Rytlewski matriculated into medical school at the University of Michigan. Given the lack of experience within large urban areas, Dr. Rytlewski entered the internal medicine residency program at the University of Texas Southwestern. This program has a rich academic tradition that also allowed for an urban experience within inner-city Dallas. Upon completion of his internal medicine specialty. Dr. Rytlewski joined the cardiology fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern. It was at this time that his interest in the field of electrophysiology evolved.

Electrophysiology is a medical subspecialty that focuses on abnormal heart rhythms, pacemakers and defibrillators. Within this field, it is possible to perform ablation procedures that correct electrical short circuits within the heart, earning these types of physicians a reputation for being “the electricians of the heart.” After training for five years in Dallas, Dr. Rytlewski then relocated to Nashville, Tenn., to complete a fellowship within electrophysiology at Vanderbilt Medical Center, where he would become the Chief Electrophysiology Fellow. In aggregate, Dr. Rytlewski had now completed 15 years of higher-level education and training before taking his “first real job” as an electrophysiologist within a well-known private group at the Missouri Heart Center.

A prior mentor then recruited Dr. Rytlewski at Vanderbilt to join the medical staff at Wake Forest University, where he would serve as an associate professor performing tertiary-level electrophysiology procedures. These were the procedures that other institutes were unwilling or unable to perform.