Cardioversion:
Cardioversion
is a treatment method to get your abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) back to a
normal pattern by sending electric signals to your ticker through electrodes
placed on the chest. During a cardioversion, a patient is given a short-acting
general anesthetic or heavy sedation in order for him to be asleep throughout,
electrodes (large sticky pads) are stuck on the chest of the patient, the
electrodes connected to a defibrillator machine gives one or more controlled
electric shocks to the chest wall and the defibrillator machine enables the
medical staff to see straight away if the cardioversion was successful by
monitoring the heart rhythm throughout the procedure. The entire procedure
usually lasts about 10 minutes.
For
cardioversion, you’ll usually only need to go to hospital for part of the day,
some people need to stay overnight though depending on their medical condition.
Complication
and Success Rate:
Talking
about complications, complications are unusual after cardioversion and if you
experience any side effects, they are usually temporary. One may experience headaches
and dizziness from a drop in the blood pressure after cardioversion. An
individual may experience chest discomfort in the chest where the shock was
given. Feeling sick is a common anesthetic side effect.
Cardioversion
doesn’t always restore normal heart rhythm, sometimes its successful to start
with though, but then arrhythmia could come back several days, weeks or even
months later. Doctors in such cases may repeat cardioversion or may consider
another treatment option for you.
Close to a
heart treatment, it’s natural to feel worried. What can help in this regard is
talking about your feelings with someone close to you or with a healthcare
professional.
Ablation,
or Catheter Ablation:
Ablation
treatment aims to control or correct certain types of abnormal heart rhythms
(arrhythmias) by using
either heat (radiofrequency ablation) or freezing (cryoablation) on the area of
your ticker that’s causing the abnormal heart rhythm through creation of scar
tissue which breaks abnormal circuits in the ticker and simultaneously destroys
areas of the heart muscle which are triggering the abnormal rhythms. The doctor
advances a flexible thin tube (catheter) through the blood vessels to your ticker
to ablate (stop) abnormal electrical pathways (signals) in the heart tissue.
After the
Treatment:
Ablation
does not usually work right away and an individual may have ongoing symptoms
like palpitations, after the procedure. It takes around 8-10 weeks to be clear
whether it worked or not. A healthcare provider discusses stopping some of your
medication, only if the treatment is a success. Another ablation procedure may
be needed if the ablation doesn’t work first time, or the patient might be
asked to explore alternative treatments.
A patient,
after the procedure is required to stay lying flat on their back, rest for a
few hours and may need to stay in hospital overnight. Though you are likely to
feel tired afterwards, but you should feel back to normal within a few days.
You can even start to drive after a couple of days which your nurse or doctor
will let you know.
Risks associated
with Ablation:
Like all
operations, ablation does involve a very small amount of risk which your doctor
will explain to you before you give consent for the treatment. Doctors
recommend this procedure only if they think the benefits outweigh the risks. A
little bleeding can occur where the catheter was inserted. You can expect some
bruising and you may develop a hematoma which a small collection of blood under
the skin. The ticker’s normal electrical pathways may get affected as well which
necessitates fitting a pacemaker to stop your heart from beating too slowly.
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