THE BEAT GOES ON - Treating Arrhythmias with Ablation PT1

Producer/Director/Writer: Joe Vertino
THE BEAT GOES ON - Treating Arrhythmias with Ablation, Part One of two. Scott J. Pollak, M.D.
Ablation is used to treat abnormal heart rhythms. The type of arrhythmia and the presence of other heart disease will determine whether ablation can be performed.Non-surgical ablation, used for many types of arrhythmias, is performed in a special lab called the electrophysiology (EP) laboratory. During this non-surgical procedure a catheter is inserted into a specific area of the heart. A special machine directs energy through the catheter to small areas of the heart muscle that causes the abnormal heart rhythm. This energy "disconnects" the pathway of the abnormal rhythm. It can also be used to disconnect the electrical pathway between the upper chambers (atria) and the lower chambers (ventricles) of the heart.

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