Atrial Fibrillation and Ablation Therapy

Featuring Dr. Frank Halperin, MD, FRCPC, FACC, Cardiologist

Duration: 1 minute, 29 seconds

Ablation is an exciting new treatment for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and what ablation is, is a method of creating a small scar within the cavity of the heart, which helps change the way that electricity is conducted in the heart.  

Depending on where the scar is made will result in different effects in terms of the electrical pattern within the heart. Using this technique to isolate the pulmonary veins which are structures within the heart, this can result in a reduced likelihood of atrial fibrillation occurring and can help prevent – and by doing this can help prevent recurring episodes of atrial fibrillation.

This technique is a complicated technique requiring very experienced centers.  It takes several hours for it to be performed, and it is not always effective.  It typically tends to work in patients about three times out of four and there are complications related to this, and hence this is a very specific therapy, only to be used in very – in a very specific set of patients. 

This is not the type of treatment that one would tend to jump to first.  It's the type of treatment that when one fails other medications or can’t tolerate medications ablation is certainly a strategy that should be considered and it is something that you should talk to both – your family physician or better yet; your cardiologist about this to see if this may be a treatment that is good for you.

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Presenter: Dr. Frank Halperin, Cardiologist, Kelowna, BC

Local Practitioners: Cardiologist