2006-07-12 16:46:44 · 7 answers · asked by louiswst 1 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Heart Diseases
I think you mean "ablation," which is a non-surgical procedure used to destroy tissue in the heart that is housing a "short circuit" in the heart's electrical system (which can disturb normal heart rhythms). It's done using a catheter, which is a very thin flexible wire that they insert into a blood vessel (usually in your groin or neck) and thread down into the heart. They then use the wire to locate the part of the heart where the short circuit is and then to destroy that tiny area of tissue, restoring the heart's electrical system back to normal.
This procedure is usually pretty painless and they will often sedate you to keep you calm while it's going on.
2006-07-12 16:54:32 · answer #1 · answered by Meg 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is called cardiac ablation...used for rapid heartbeats or unusual rhythms in the heart. It is usually a last resort after changes in diet and trying various medications. It should be performed by a specialist who has done many, many of these procedures. It is not a cardio-version, which is the shock to the heart. That can also be tried and if that doesn't work, then this can be done. It is a catheter run into the heart through an artery and then part of the muscle or nerve tissue is zapped. This stops the heart from getting the wrong electrical messages and can make the rhythm return to normal. It is more successful for certain types of arrythmias than others.
See link for more info:
2006-07-12 23:52:50 · answer #2 · answered by ringladydee 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I just had an ablation at Prairie Heart Center in Springfield, Illinois by Dr. Kreigh Moulton. You can look them up on the internet. They are in the top 5 in the nation there.
They used flouroscopy to go into my heart and burn a pathway which was causing me to have a really abnormal heart rythm called AV node re entrant tachycardia. My heart would be beating at about 75 and in 1 beat go to 230 beats per minute. During the procedure in the cath lab, I was put to sleep using conscious sedation and some pain meds and while I was out they ablated the extra pathway that was causing my problem. They do this by feeding 2 small catheters up through the groins on both sides. I have heard they can go up your arm or through your neck, but mine was in my groins. It was a venous stick, so not as many problems as with an arterial stick.
I heard all kinds of horror stories about people dying during the procedure and even another cardiologist told me I would be on the cath table for up to 4 hours and they may not get it the 1st time. He was wrong. I was on the cath table a max of 45 minutes from prep to the end.
I was amazed at how fast and easy it was. I hope that helps.
2006-07-13 01:33:30 · answer #3 · answered by happydawg 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cardio-ablation is for people with frequent heart arrhythmias such as Atrial Fibrillation. It's a procedure that involes a catheter which is inserted into a main vein in the leg, and they push a tiny thin wire through the vein until it reaches the heart. From there they can "map" your heart and directly locate the trouble spots in your heart that's been causing the arrhythmias. And then they can literally burn the problem spots away with the thin wire (at the tip of it) so that it causes minor scarring, and the scarring is what "kills" the problem spotsto prevent any further arrhythmias. I suffer from Atrial Fibrilliation occaisionally, andit was recommended to me. But it's a very expensive procedure, and with a 90% success rate.
2006-07-13 02:47:28 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ablation: Removal or excision. Ablation is usually carried out surgically. For example, surgical removal of the thyroid gland (a total thyroidectomy) is ablation of the thyroid. The word ablation comes from the Latin ablatum meaning to carry away.
Historically, the word ablation once had mainly a general meaning so that in 1671 the ablation (removal) of a disease was a matter for consideration. But by 1846 "ablation" had taken on a specifically surgical edge and today it applies principally to the surgical removal of any part of the body.
Common Misspellings: oblation
2006-07-12 23:52:57 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oblation is the surgical removal of a body part or of body tissue.
2006-07-12 23:53:00 · answer #6 · answered by goodbye 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is where the take the patient into the cardiac cath lab and sedate them and then use the heart paddles to shock there heart back into normal rhythm.
2006-07-12 23:52:12 · answer #7 · answered by hot pepper 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋