If your doctor has no luck treating your atrial fibrillation with the best medications along with cardioversion and/or surgery, then the goal will be to slow down your heart rate, to between 60 to 100 beats a minute. Atrial fibrillation is an abnormal heart rhythm where the heart races rapidly and irregularly. Your doctor can slow the rate down in several ways. One is with medications such as digoxin (Lanoxin), along with beta blockers or calcium channel blockers.
Another option is a surgical treatment called atrioventricular (AV) node ablation. In this procedure, the surgeon uses radiofrequency energy to destroy a small area of tissue, called the AV node, in the pathway that connects the heart's upper chambers -- the atria -- with the lower chambers, or the ventricles. This treatment can block the atria from sending erratic electrical impulses to the ventricles that trigger the irregular heart rhythm. However, AV node ablation does not stop the atria themselves from fibrillating, or quivering irregularly, which causes your heart to pump ineffectively, leaving blood to pool within it. This can increase the chances of blood clots forming that could trigger a stroke. Thus, you'll need to take blood thinning drugs to help prevent that risk.
If your doctor has no luck treating your atrial fibrillation with
the best medications along with cardioversion and/or surgery, then
the goal will be to slow down your heart rate, to between 60 to 100
beats a minute. Atrial fibrillation is an...
More
Dr. Michael Roizen answered:If your doctor is unable to restore normal, healthy heart rhythm with medicine or electrical cardioversion (a type of shock therapy for your ticker), the next option is a technique called catheter ablation. In this procedure, a doctor inserts a wire into a vein in your arm or leg and snakes it all the way through your arteries to the heart. Pretty cool, right? Next, the doctor delivers pulses of electrical energy to destroy unhealthy heart tissue that’s preventing your heart from beating properly. Sometimes, your doctor will decide it’s necessary to knock out a portion of the heart called the AV node. This part of the heart normally sends electrical signals from the top of your heart (atria) to the bottom (ventricles). If your doctor knocks out your AV node, you will need to have a device known as a pacemaker implanted so that your heart keeps thumping.If your doctor is unable to restore normal, healthy heart rhythm with medicine or electrical cardioversion (a type of shock therapy for your ticker), the next option is a technique called catheter ablation. In this procedure, a doctor inserts a wire... More
Dr. Douglas Severance answered:If your doctor has no luck treating your atrial fibrillation with the best medications along with cardioversion and/or surgery, then the goal will be to slow down your heart rate, to between 60 to 100 beats a minute. Atrial fibrillation is an abnormal heart rhythm where the heart races rapidly and irregularly. Your doctor can slow the rate down in several ways. One is with medications such as digoxin (Lanoxin), along with beta blockers or calcium channel blockers.
