It uses either heat (radio-frequency ablation) or freezing (cryo-ablation) on the area of your heart that’s causing the abnormal heart rhythm (or arrhythmia). This treatment creates scar tissue which:
- breaks abnormal circuits in the heart
- destroys areas of the heart muscle which are triggering arrhythmias.
An ablation is started using the same technique as an electrophysiology (EP) study and is often carried out at the same time. The EP study can discover if you have extra electrical pathways in your heart that could be causing your abnormal heart rhythm.
Cardioversion is a treatment which aims to get your abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) back to a normal pattern.
It’s done by sending electric signals to your heart through electrodes placed on the chest.
Read more at the BHF website
Your coronary arteries play a vital role in keeping your heart healthy. But in some people, the coronary arteries can become narrowed or blocked because fatty deposits, called atheroma, have built up within the artery walls.
Coronary angioplasty helps improve the blood supply to your heart muscle by widening narrowed coronary arteries and allowing blood to flow through again.
Angioplasty can help to relieve angina symptoms and is also used as an emergency treatment for people who’ve had a heart attack.