Heart is among the vital organs in humans. The heart really works hard to pump the blood throughout the body. Just imagine how hard the heart works to ensure blood flow within the 100 000 kilometres blood vessels in the body to provide nutrients and oxygen for all cells in the body to work properly. Ask a doctor and you may be surprised to know that heart diseases are among the leading causes of death in both men and women throughout the world. There can be many diseases or heart conditions affecting a person. In this article, we will be learning about a treatment used to treat heart conditions, known as heart ablation.

Heart ablation is a procedure aimed to correct abnormal heart rhythms. Abnormal heart rhythms are also known as arrhythmia. Heart ablation helps to restore the normal heart rhythm. Arrhythmia is caused by the abnormal cells in the heart creating disorganised electrical signals. The problem with arrhythmia is more than just irregular heartbeat. Arrhythmia may cause a person to be weak, short of breath and even faint because arrhythmia itself causes the heart to pump blood ineffectively. Arrhythmia also increases the chance for a stroke and heart failure.

The way heart ablation works to treat arrhythmia is by destroying the areas causing the abnormal electrical system of the heart. The scar tissues formed helps to prevent further electrical circuit and enable the heart to return to its normal rhythm. Heart ablation may not work immediately as a person may still have some symptoms such as palpitation after the procedure. To know if the heart ablation is a success or not is to be decided by the doctor after 8 to 10 weeks following the heart ablation procedure.

In general, there are two types of heart ablation procedures. The first and common one is catheter ablation. In this procedure, the cardiologist places a catheter through the vein, usually the vein around the groin area and guides the catheter into the heart. The catheter delivers cold energy such as in cryoablation or hot energy (similar to a microwave heat) such as in radiofrequency ablation. These will create scars. The second type of heart ablation is surgical ablation. Surgical ablation is a form of an open-heart surgery which means involving making incision or small cuts to the heart. Surgical ablation requires general anaesthesia. In some cases, a patient might be put on a heart-lung bypass machine. Surgical ablation is usually reserved for those already gone for surgery to treat another heart condition such as bypass surgery or a valve replacement. Recent surgical ablation uses smaller cuts and combined with catheter ablation without the need for an open-heart surgery.

The heart ablation procedure itself usually takes around 2 to 4 hours. The quickest ablation procedure took only 15 minutes. The time taken for the procedure depends on the difficulty and the complexity of the arrhythmia or the heart condition itself. It is worth noting that the time taken for the procedure may be included with preparation before the procedure and the recovery period following the procedure.

All heart ablation procedures are performed in the hospital by cardiologist or cardiac surgeon.  Before the procedure, specific instructions are usually given by doctors to make sure the procedure runs smoothly. This includes to stop taking blood thinning medication and not drinking or eating hours before the procedure. During the day of the procedure, patients may be allowed to take medication as directed by doctors with a small sip of water. Remember to let the doctor know all medications you are taking and to not stop taking these medications unless instructed by the doctor. It is best to arrange someone to drive you home after the procedure and not to drive vehicles by yourself.

After the procedure is done, the patient may need to stay several hours in the recovery area. Some patients may need to stay overnight. When the patient is allowed to leave the hospital, the doctor usually prescribes medication that needs to be taken at home and specific instructions that needs to be done at home. For the first week after the procedure, patients should not drive on their own unless allowed by the doctor, avoid heavy physical activities unless the doctor has clearly said it is safe and to make sure the incision site is clean and dry. If the incision site starts to bleed or show signs of infection, the patient should immediately notify their healthcare provider. Increased pain, redness or swelling of the puncture or incision site, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, fever or chills that is experienced after the procedure should make a patient call their doctor to report the symptom. Any other discomfort or side effects from the procedure that is experienced by the patient need to be addressed to their doctor for further investigation and treatment.

In essence, heart ablation or cardiac ablation can treat arrhythmia. Heart ablation may not take immediate effect and patients might be feeling arrhythmia symptoms for a while even after the procedure. Patients can resume with their usual daily life routine with exception for the first week. Heart ablation possesses a 70 to 80 percent success rate in treating arrhythmia. It is necessary for patients to attend follow-up and all scheduled appointments following a heart ablation procedure.

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