Ablative treatment

Tachycardia, besides being treated by drugs, may be cured by cardiac catheter ablation. The tip of a catheter is inserted through the femoral vein and then guided to the chamber of the heart where the abnormal electrical signals is produced in order to destroy the abnormal tissue (radiofrequency ablation) and correct the irregular heartbeat without damaging the rest of the heart. 

In the majority of cases the procedure is an effective mean to cure tachycardia once and for all without additional check-up, while with particularly complex arrhythmias it can be of use reducing the symptoms, but patients should continue  any treatments and checks-up. 

ARRHYTHMIAS THAT CAN BE TREATED BY TRANSCATHETER ABLATION:

• Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia among elderly patients. In some selected cases, transcatheter ablation is the best option for treating the disease, since it helps reducing the symptoms. At the same time, younger patients can be potentially cured. In Fondazione Poliambulanza patients are treated with additional techniques, for example a three-dimensional mapping integrated with a medical imaging technique, the rotational angiography. Transcatheter ablation is a painless procedure, performed under local anaesthesia and with a soft sedation.
• .Paroxysmal supraventicular tachycardias are very common among young people, but they can be found also in elderly one. In both cases transcatheter ablation could be a definitive cure. Since patients don’t want to take any drugs, international guidelines suggest that transcatheter ablation could be the preferable therapy.
• Ventricular extrasystoles, despite being commonly treated with drugs, can be additionally cured with transcatheter ablation using the three-dimensional mapping.
• Cardiac decompensation, a condition of congestive heart failure, when associated with a severe left ventricular dysfunction can be treated with cardiac resynchronization. It makes use of three percutaneous electrocatheters implanted in the heart intravenously and connected to a generator usually placed under left clavicle. The dispositive installed could be or a pacemaker or a defibrillator.