Catheter Ablation

Due to your arrhythmia (abnormal rhythm), your doctor is considering a catheter ablation. Catheter ablation is a non-surgical technique used to eliminate alternate pathways present in the heart that interfere with the normal conduction and cause arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats).

Prior to the procedure, you can expect to sign an informed consent. You are encouraged to ask your doctor, nurse or the staff any questions you may have regarding the procedure and what to expect.

You will have an intravenous line to provide access for laboratory personnel to give you sedation and other medications, prescribed by your doctor, during the procedure. The catheter ablation is performed in the Electrophysiology Laboratory and may take three to six hours. You will be sedated during this time. Due to the length of the procedure, a urinary catheter will be inserted to drain your bladder during the procedure. The urinary catheter will be removed after the procedure, either later the same day or the next morning, when you are allowed out of bed. The sedation you will receive for the procedure may cause you to forget most of the procedure, and may cause you to sleep for several hours after the procedure.

You will not be alone during the procedure. There will be many trained staff with you during your catheter ablation to assist you with anything you may require during the procedure. For your safety, restraints may be applied to your arms and legs. You are closely monitored during the procedure. This monitoring may include, but is not limited to, such things as your heart rhythm, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation.

A full EP study will be performed with stimulation of the arrhythmia and mapping of internal cardiac structures locating the site of extra pathways that may be the cause of your arrhythmias. You can expect to have the EP catheters inserted in both groins and at the side of your neck also. Once the area of the heart has been defined through catheter mapping, a special ablation catheter is placed at the site of the abnormal pathway. Radio-frequency waves are delivered through this catheter. The heat formed by this catheter causes scar tissue on this pathway of cells so that the abnormal conduction cannot pass through. The doctor may perform several applications of this type until the unwanted pathway is no longer functional.

After the procedure, there will be a prescribed period of time you will be required to lie flat in bed to allow the catheter entry sites to heal. This may be a matter of hours or until the next morning.

This procedure has revolutionized the approach to treatment of patients with arrhythmia caused by alternate pathways because it cures the arrhythmia rather than treating it with medication.