What is ablation?

Used to treat irregular heartbeats, cardiac ablation uses heat or cold energy to block abnormal electrical signals and restore a regular heartbeat. The scarring in the intended areas helps to prevent your heart from producing irregular heartbeats. A cardiologist or cardiac surgeon will thoroughly evaluate your heart condition before deciding which type of ablation procedure is best for you.

• Atrial fibrillation (AFib)
• Atrial flutter
• Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT)
• Ventricular tachycardia (VT)

• Catheter: This is the most common type of heart ablation. It is a minimally invasive procedure in which a cardiologist threads a catheter through a vein, typically in the groin, and guides it into your heart.
• Surgical: Cardiac surgeons perform an open-heart ablation called a maze procedure while doing other heart surgery. If you need another heart surgery with ablation, this option would be recommended by your physician.
• Hybrid: If you don’t need open-heart surgery, the surgeon can perform a mini maze procedure, making small incisions in the chest and inserting a catheter to treat the arrhythmia-causing signals.

• Acute pulmonary embolism is the sudden onset of symptoms caused by a blood clot in the lungs.
• Chronic pulmonary embolism, the least common type, is caused by residual blood clots left along the vessel walls in the lungs, even after previous treatments.
• Subacute pulmonary embolism develops over the course of 2-12 weeks, has a higher mortality rate than other types, and is also more prone to becoming treatment-resistant.

• People who cannot undergo cardioversion, a procedure that uses electrical shocks to restore heart rhythm. One type of cardioversion uses a specific medication that some people are not able to take.
• Professional athletes, or anyone who performs intense exercise, have an increased risk of developing AFib. However, AFib medication can affect performance, so ablation is the treatment option preferred by athletes.
• People with heart disease, especially those at high risk for AFib complications like cardiac arrest, would be recommended to have this procedure by their physician.

• Restores normal heart rhythms
• Reduce symptoms like shortness of breath, fatigue, or weakness
• Typically removes the need for antiarrhythmic medication

• Arrhythmias
• Blood clots
• Damage to the vein from the sheath and catheter
• Narrowing of the veins that carry blood between your lungs and heart
• Exposure to radiation during catheter ablation
• Infection or bleeding
• Stroke or heart attack