Cardiac Ablation: Understanding Risks and Benefits for Arrhythmia Treatment

Cardiac ablation is a procedure to treat arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat. It is used after medication has proved ineffective or caused serious side effects.

Procedure

• Arrhythmia can be caused by abnormal tissue in the heart that blocks normal electrical impulses that cause the heart to beat. In ablation, a catheter (tube) is inserted through a vein and threaded to the heart. Electrodes at the end of the catheter are used to scar or destroy the abnormal tissue.

Risks

• Risks include bleeding at the insertion side, damage to your blood vessels from the catheter, puncture of the heart, worsening of the arrhythmia, blood clots, narrowing of the veins or kidney damage.

Benefits

• Ablation is often effective when medications fail, and is especially effective for certain types of arrhythmias such as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. It is also good for those with a high risk of complications from their arrhythmia, like cardiac arrest.

Complications

• The risk of complications is greater if you have diabetes or kidney disease or are over age 75.

Recovery

• After surgery you must lie still for four to six hours to prevent bleeding at the insertion site. Many patients go home the same day or next day, and can resume normal activities within a few days.