Tachycardia

Treatment

If you have tachycardia, your Mayo Clinic treatment team will work with you to offer appropriate treatment options that can restore your heart to normal rhythm, regulate your heart rate and prevent blood clots. Your treatment will depend on the specific type of tachycardia you have and may include:

• Medications. Your doctor may prescribe drugs alone or in combination with other treatments. You may need a medicine that slows your heart rate, restores normal rhythm, prevents blood clots or thins your blood.
• Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). If you're diagnosed with ventricular tachycardia, your doctor may recommend an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. This small device monitors your heart's rhythm and delivers bursts of electrical energy to restore a normal heart rhythm.
• Catheter radiofrequency ablation. In cardiac catheter ablation you get a mild sedative and a local anesthetic. Then your doctor threads thin, flexible tubes (catheters) through your blood vessels. Radiofrequency energy given through the catheter removes abnormal tissue.
• Open-heart maze procedure. If you have atrial fibrillation, the most common kind of tachycardia, your doctor may recommend a maze procedure to regulate your heartbeat.
• Follow-up care. If you're recovering from heart surgery or medical device implantation, your doctor may recommend Mayo Clinic's cardiac rehabilitation program. Cardiac rehabilitation consists of monitored exercise sessions during your recovery period.

Read more about tachycardia treatment, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and radiofrequency ablation.