Non surgical percutaneous catheter ablation

Atrial fibrillation may persist, despite all current drug therapy. When atrial fibrillation persists, an individual may choose to undergo a catheter ablation of the abnormal heart rhythms (also called the arrhythmia).

Catheter ablation is a treatment whereby the source of the patient's atrial fibrillation is mapped out, localized, and then destroyed (ablated) with radiowaves generated by heat. When applied to the heart tissue, the affected area of the atria (the upper chambers of the heart) is heated by the radiowaves and is inactivated.

Catheter ablation prevents the development of the electrical pathways that cause atrial fibrillation. This requires state of the art mapping equipment which helps generate 3-D images of the heart 's chambers. These procedures are performed by cardiac electrophysiologists with special training in the field of arrhythmia management.

In order to reach the specialized tissue, a catheter is passed through a blood vessel in the groin and threaded into the atrial chambers. Threading this catheter to the heart and directing it to the affected tissue requires special skills by the elctrophysiologist.