Cardiac Ablation

About AFib

AFib is an irregular heartbeat that can cause a wide variety of symptoms and severely affect your quality of life. Some of the most common symptoms include shortness of breath (especially with activity), fatigue and palpitations. Read more about AFib.

AFib/stroke link

AFib heart contractions are weaker than normal contractions. This results in slow flow of blood in the atrium of your heart. The blood pools and becomes sluggish and can lead to the forming of blood clots. If a clot leaves your heart and travels to your brain, it can cause a stroke by blocking the flow of blood through the arteries of the brain.

What is cardiac ablation?

Cardiac ablation, or catheter ablation, is used to reset your heart’s incorrect electrical signals to a more normal pattern. Most people who receive catheter ablation treatment experience a long-term reduction in the number of episodes of AFib and the severity of symptoms. They often feel an improvement in their quality of life. Studies have shown early treatment with catheter ablation may produce better long-term outcomes by slowing or preventing the progression of AFib.

Cardiac ablations are performed by an electrophysiologist, a doctor trained in diagnosing and treating problems with your heart’s electrical system.

During the procedure, a thin tube called a catheter is placed through a small puncture in your leg vein. Then the tube is sent up through the vein in the leg to your heart. With the help of 3D imaging technology, an electrophysiologist uses a catheter to permanently block the faulty electrical impulses causing the AFib.

Types of ablation

• Radio frequency ablation produces heat to modify electricity flow.
• Cryoballoon ablation uses cold to block problematic electrical impulses.
• Pulsed field ablation uses selective pulsed electric fields to ablate, or destroy, targeted areas of heart tissue that cause abnormal heart rhythms.