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Patients and Families

What are the Ablation Options?

Certain arrhythmias may be treated permanently with a technique known as ablation. Ablation alters the abnormal electrical connection or impulse in the heart in order to permanently interrupt the arrhythmia. Depending on the arrhythmia and the patient's medical condition, this procedure may be performed with a catheter or, alternatively, during heart surgery. A catheter is a very thin tube that is inserted in a vein in the patient's leg and threaded to the heart where it delivers energy to treat the patient's arrhythmia. In surgical procedures, a flexible probe is used directly on an exposed heart to apply the energy that interrupts the arrhythmia.

Catheter-based procedures

Different catheter-based ablation techniques may be used and they generally fall into two categories: (1) cold-based procedures where tissue cooling is used to treat the arrhythmia and (2) heat-based procedures where high temperature is used to alter the abnormal conductive tissue in the heart.

CryoAblation

CryoAblation is an innovative technique that restores normal electrical conduction by freezing tissue or heart pathways that interfere with the normal distribution of the heart's electrical impulses. By cooling the tip of the CryoAblation catheter to sub-zero temperatures, the cells in the heart responsible for conducting the arrhythmia are altered so that they no longer conduct electrical impulses.

RF ablation

Radiofrequency (RF) energy has traditionally been used to perform ablations. Using a vein as a conduit, a number of catheters, including the RF catheter, are placed in the heart. The electrode catheters are used to locate the abnormal conduction tissue. Once the location is identified, the RF ablation catheter is positioned directly over the area that's causing the arrhythmia. Its tip is heated, causing that small area of the heart to be altered so that electrical impulses can no longer conduct through the tissue.