Radiofrequency ablation uses precisely directed, high-frequency electrical energy to sear and eliminate tiny abnormal bundles of heart muscle responsible for the arrhythmia. Approximately 95 percent of patients who undergo this treatment are completely cured. These devices are used to correct severe, potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmias. The defibrillator monitors the heart's rhythm and identifies arrhythmias as they occur. When it detects a deadly arrhythmia, the device disrupts it with a pacing impulse, or electrical shock, and restores a normal heartbeat.
Pacemakers are the primary treatment for bradycardia, a heartbeat that is too slow.
This small electrical device monitors the heartbeat and emits tiny electrical impulses which stimulate the heart when the heart rate falls below a critical rate. The impulses are sent to the heart by leads, or electrode wires, that go from the pacemaker to the heart. The newest pacemakers speed up or slow down the heart rate according to activity, allowing patients to be more active than with standard pacemakers. A small percentage of patients who have severe arrhythmias that cannot be controlled any other way require surgery. Maze surgery is a new technique being used to treat atrial fibrillation.