If you have an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), your heart may beat too quickly or erratically and you may need heart ablation to treat it.
Heart ablation is a minimally invasive procedure. With it, a health care provider guides a thin, flexible tube called a catheter into the heart to create small scars in the areas that are causing abnormal electrical signals. After the procedure, the electrical signals can’t get past the scars, so the heartbeat can go back to normal.
Heart ablation (also known as cardiac ablation) can treat symptoms of arrhythmia like palpitations, dizziness, lightheadedness, fainting, shortness of breath, chest discomfort and fatigue and reduce your risk of serious complications like stroke, heart failure and sudden cardiac arrest.
These are some of the most diagnosed heart rhythm disorders:
Learn more about heart rhythm disorders.
Heart ablation may manage or treat common heart rhythm disorders like atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia and atrial flutter. It can be a good choice if medication and other treatment options aren’t working well for you, you have a high risk of sudden cardiac arrest or have a type of arrhythmia that responds well to this treatment.
Health care providers have used traditional ablation techniques to treat heart rhythm disorders for many years. These procedures use a catheter with a tip that either places heat (radiofrequency energy) or cold (cryo-energy) on the parts of the heart that are creating the abnormal electrical signals. This energy creates scar tissue that interrupts the electrical signals.
Two innovative and advanced types of ablation, called pulsed field ablation (PFA) and stereotaxis genesis, are now also treatment options.
This treatment option uses pulsed electrical fields instead of heat or cold to pinpoint areas in the heart tissue that cause the irregular heartbeat. This precision makes the procedure very accurate, which means it has high success rates and lowers your chance of having future arrhythmia while also minimizing damage to normal tissue and lowering the risk of complications.
This treatment option uses advanced robotics to precisely and accurately guide catheters within the heart. By using magnetic fields to control the catheter, it can show the heart in 3D, so providers can carefully map and treat the parts of the heart that are causing an irregular heartbeat. Stereotaxis genesis is a very specific type of technology that your physician may feel is the best option for you to improve safety and outcomes compared to traditional catheter techniques.
During the procedure, specialized magnets are placed around your body to create magnetic fields that interact with elements inside the catheters. Health care providers can then change the strength and direction of these magnetic fields to precisely position the catheters inside the heart, all while reducing the risk of complications or damage to nearby blood vessels and healthy tissue.
Before you have heart ablation, your health care provider will tell you the risks and benefits, complete a medical exam, review your medical history and discuss any medications you are taking. You may need to adjust or temporarily stop some medicines before you have the procedure.
Your provider may order tests to evaluate your heart and health, such as:
Once your heart ablation is scheduled, your provider will tell you how long to fast before the procedure. You’ll need to arrange for someone to transport you home afterward.
During the ablation, you will either have local anesthesia and sedation or general anesthesia. A healthcare provider, usually a cardiac electrophysiologist, will guide catheters into your blood vessels, usually through your neck or groin. Once they are positioned, they will map the electrical activity and identify the areas causing abnormal heart rhythms.
They will then create internal scars that disrupt the heart's electrical pathways and restore your normal heart rhythm. They may also need to map and treat additional areas.
Throughout the procedure, which may take two to six hours, your health care team will monitor your heart rhythm, blood pressure and other vital signs to make sure you’re safe.
When the procedure is finished, the provider will remove the catheters and close the insertion sites with either stitches or compression devices. Then they will move you to a recovery room to closely monitor you. You will need to lie flat for several hours after the procedure. You may go home the same day or stay in the hospital for one to two days.
Your team will give you instructions on how to care for the wounds, what medication to take, when you can return to activities such as driving and exercise and what follow-up appointments you need. Most people can return to regular activities in a few days.
You may have minor side effects such as discomfort or soreness, fatigue, mild chest discomfort or palpitations. You can usually manage these side effects with over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications and rest, and they usually clear up within a few days or weeks.
Your health care team will check your recovery and how well treatment is working, adjust your medications (if needed) and watch for complications.
They may recommend additional tests or procedures such as physical exams, electrocardiograms (ECGs), echocardiograms or other diagnostic tests to evaluate your heart rhythm and function. They may ask you to keep a diary to record any symptoms and medications.
Heart ablation is generally considered safe and effective. Still, there are certain risks:
If you have any serious symptoms or complications after the procedure, such as chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, redness or swelling at the incision site, leg numbness or excessive bleeding, seek medical attention right away.
If you have a heart rhythm disorder that’s causing a fast or irregular heartbeat, heart ablation may be a treatment option to consider. Ablation could be a good choice if medication isn’t working well for you, you have certain types of arrhythmias or you’re at high risk of serious complications. Your health care provider will help pick the best option for your unique situation.
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