Arrhythmia

Treatment

Mayo Clinic doctors trained in heart conditions (cardiologists), heart rhythm conditions (electrophysiologists), heart surgery (cardiac surgeons) and other specialties treat people who have arrhythmia.

Doctors will work with you to determine the most appropriate treatment, based on your symptoms and the cause and severity of your condition.

Your arrhythmia treatment may include several options.

• Cardioversion. In cardioversion, your doctor may use paddles or patches on your chest to electrically shock your heart and help restore your heart's normal rhythm. Doctors may also use drugs to stop your heart's fast rhythm and restore a normal rhythm.
• Catheter radiofrequency ablation. In catheter radiofrequency ablation, your doctor inserts thin, flexible tubes (catheters) in a vein in your arm or groin and threads them through your blood vessels to your heart. Your doctor then applies heat (radiofrequency energy) or extreme cold (cryoablation) through the catheter to destroy the abnormal heart tissue causing your condition.
  
  Your doctor sometimes may conduct atrioventricular (AV) node ablation. In this procedure, doctors use radiofrequency energy to destroy the electrical connection (AV node) between the upper and lower heart chambers (atria and ventricles), blocking the heart's electrical impulses. Once the AV node is destroyed, doctors then need to implant a pacemaker to establish a normal heart rhythm.
• Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). Your doctor may place an ICD under your skin in your chest to send electronic signals to your heart when your heart rate reaches a certain limit or goes very high, to help regulate your heartbeat.
• Medications. Your doctor may prescribe medications to control your heart rate or heart rhythm, or to prevent blood clots.
• Pacemakers. Your doctor may place a pacemaker under your skin near your collarbone to help control and monitor your heart rhythm.
• Surgery. If you have atrial fibrillation and other treatment isn't effective, your doctor may recommend maze heart surgery. In this procedure, your surgeon makes small cuts in your upper heart chamber (atrium) to help disrupt the electrical signals causing heart rhythm problems. Your doctors sometimes may access your heart and conduct surgery through small incisions in the side of your chest (minimally invasive heart surgery). Minimally invasive surgery leaves smaller, less noticeable scars than does open heart surgery, has a lower risk of infection and may involve less blood loss.
• Follow-up care. You'll need follow-up appointments with your doctor to monitor your heart rhythm and rate. You may benefit from cardiac rehabilitation. Your doctor may recommend lifestyle changes that will help control your heart rhythm and improve your heart health.