The tissue can be destroyed by catheterization or surgery. Radiofrequency catheter ablation, performed in a cardiac catheterization laboratory, can cure atrial flutter and control the heart rate in atrial fibrillation. The patient is awake but sedated. A thin tube called a catheter is inserted into a vein and is threaded into the heart. At the end of the catheter, a device maps the electrical pathways of the heart.
Surgical ablation is performed in an operating room under general anesthesia.
Computerized mapping techniques are combined with a cold probe to destroy arrhythmia-causing tissue. Ablation is generally successful. When ablation is used for atrial fibrillation, it is usually followed by implantation of a pacemaker as well as drug therapy. A pacemaker is a battery-powered device about the size of a matchbox that is surgically implanted near the collarbone to regulate the heart beat. Lead wires threaded to the right side of the heart supply electrical energy to pace the atria and ventricles.