Do you suffer from heart arrhythmia? It is not fun to have irregular heartbeats. And your heart specialist will suggest treatment catered around your condition. Catheter ablation is also an invasive procedure that helps stop the electrical impulses responsible for irregular heart rhythms. So, how long does a catheter ablation take? Read this blog to learn!
What is Catheter Ablation?
Catheter ablation, in simple terms, is a minimally invasive procedure to fasten heartbeats. This procedure involves a catheter, which is a thin tube inserted in your heart through a blood vessel. It is effective in treating heart rhythms that are abnormal by strategically destroying the abnormal tissue and restoring the proper function of your heart. Generally, a cardiologist performs catheter ablation.
In catheter ablation, hot or cold energy is used to create scars in your heart tissue where the arrhythmia is taking place. With these scars, the abnormal electrical impulses are blocked. Moreover, they help prevent abnormal rhythms in your heart since the scars only destroy the tissues that are involved with faulty heart patterns. Hence, they will not cause any problems with your heart function, and you won’t have to worry about residual pain either.
How Long Does a Catheter Ablation Take?
The entire ablation process lasts 3 to 4 hours, which includes the preparation time before the procedure and the time taken to remove the catheter ablation from your body.
Catheter Ablation Procedure
For the catheter ablation procedure, you will be required to stay in the hospital for the process and six to eight hours after. You may go home on the same day, or you might have to spend the night at the hospital; it all depends on your condition.
You will be given anesthesia, which means you may be awake during the procedure, but the sedation will make it easy to sit through the treatment. Your heart doctor will discuss the details with you before the procedure; make sure to have a discussion. Here is how the catheter ablation procedure goes:
- A small tube called a sheath is inserted through your skin and into your vein to create an opening. Typically, a vein or artery in your groin is used for this purpose. Other times, the provider might go with the veins present in your arm or neck.
- Next, they will insert the electrode catheters into the sheath. The catheters, then, are threaded through your artery or heart all the way up to your heart. The cardiologist will take help from the X-ray for this step.
- With the help of a catheter, hot or cold energy is delivered to the areas of your heart that cause irregular rhythms. Then, the catheter blocks the irregular rhythms by destroying the problematic heart tissue.
- At the end of the procedure, the expert will remove both the catheter and sheath from your vein or artery.
Closing Word
Your cardiologist might suggest a catheter ablation procedure to prevent abnormal rhythms in your heart. The procedure takes 3 to 4 hours, which includes the preparation for the procedure and removal of the catheter from the body as well.
Atrial Fibrillation Centers of America is here to perform safe and effective procedures! Talk to us now at (832) 478-5067 or pay us a visit at 13325 Hargrave Rd. Suite 280, Houston, TX 77070.