Sometimes, these impulses fire too quickly or travel in circles, disrupting the heart's beating, which can cause fainting, light-headedness, shortness of breath, stroke and sometimes cardiac death. Dr. Bailey says that the procedure with the new system is much faster than traditional single-point catheter mapping techniques, which can require several hours of procedure time, depending on the complexity of the case. The procedure is usually done on an outpatient basis using local anesthesia. Surgery is rarely done to treat an arrhythmia. In most cases, physicians perform a procedure immediately following mapping known as radio-frequency catheter ablation, destroying abnormal tissue in the heart.
Medication also is a treatment option.
Endocardial Solutions designs, develops, and manufactures the Ensite 3000 System being used at Lake Charles Memorial Hospital. More News . . .