|
What is cryoablation?
Why would a doctor recommend cryoablation?
What does cryoablation involve?
How long is the recovery
after cryoablation?
What is cryoablation?
Cryoablation uses a thin, flexible tube (catheter) to discover what is causing an irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia. Doctors then use intense cold to destroy the electrical pathways causing the arrhythmia.
back to top
Why would a doctor recommend cryoablation?
A doctor might recommend cryoablation if you have:
Normally, the four chambers of the heart (two atria and two ventricles) beat in a very specific, coordinated manner. This beating is guided by an electrical impulse from the body's natural pacemaker. An arrhythmia occurs when this pacemaker develops an abnormal rate or rhythm
Some types of arrythmias may be life-threatening if not treated. Cryoablation is used to treat arrhythmias that can't be controlled with lifestyle changes or medications.
back to top
What does cryoablation involve?
The patient is awake and under local pain medicine as the doctor inserts a thin, flexible tube—a catheter—into a vein, often near the groin or neck. Using a fluoroscope—an X-ray-like machine—the doctor guides the catheter to the heart.
Electrodes at the tip of the catheter gather data from the heart to find the spot where the abnormal heart tissue is misfiring. Then the doctor uses a probe—cooled with liquid nitrogen—to destroy the cells by freezing them to minus-20 degrees Celsius. This intense cold stops the area from producing the electrical impulse that causes the abnormal rhythm.
For patients with severe arrhythmia, ablation often is used with an implantable cardioverter device (ICD).
back to top
How long is the recovery after cryoablation?
After the procedure, a patient must lie still for four to six hours to make sure the entry point incision begins to heal properly. The entire procedure causes little discomfort or pain, and the patient can resume normal activities in a few days.
back to Conditions and Treatments
|
