Cardiac Ablation
Cardiac ablation is a non-surgical procedure that uses a thin bendable wire called a therapeutic catheter and is performed by an electrophysiologist (EP). An EP is a cardiologist who focuses exclusively on the diagnosis and treatment of arrhythmias (fast heartbeat), and determines where the abnormal tissue in the heart is located. The EP does this using a 3-D cardiac mapping system that acts like a navigation system creating a map of the heart in real time. Guided by this map, the EP places a catheter through the vein and into the heart to study and treat the heart's electrical impulses.
If the EP detects abnormal heart rhythms, therapeutic catheters can send radio frequency waves and generate enough heat to produce a small scar on a specific targeted part of the heart tissue. This process blocks the electrical impulses that can cause heart rhythm disorders.
