Cryoablation Heart Surgery

FAQs

How is cryoablation heart surgery performed?

Before the actual procedure, patients must undergo testing to determine the source of their arrhythmia. This involves an electrophysiologic procedure in which doctors measure and map the activity of local electrical signals. To perform the test, a catheter tipped with electrodes is placed in a vein from the leg or neck and threaded to a variety of sites within your heart. Using the electrodes, the arrhythmia event is then reproduced while doctors observe the location of the arrhythmia as well as the source of its cause under the guidance of fluoroscopy or X-rays. If the arrhythmia is caused by supraventricular tachycardia, your doctor will replace one of the "mapping" catheters with a cryocatheter and freeze the spots which appear to be causing the electrical malfunction. By freezing the tissue at this target site, the cells responsible for the arrhythmia are disabled and the arrhythmia disappears. Doctors test the area first by lowering the catheter tip to 30 degress Celcius, then dop the temperature to minus 70 degrees Celcius to make the cryoablation permanent. By testing first, any normal tissue that was inadvertently frozen can thaw and recover. Doctors will then try to reproduce the arrhythmia again and continue treatment until the arrhythmia can no longer be reproduced.

Who is eligible for cryoablation heart surgery?

Currently the procedure is only FDA-approved for arrhythmias that occur on the right side of the heart near the AV node, also called supraventricular tachycardia. This is the most common type of arrhythmia and occurs in 60 to 70 percent of patients with arrhythmia. In young children, arrhythmia is often a problem the child is born with. Approximately 2,000 procedures to eliminate arrhythmias are performed on children each year.

What are potential complications of cryoablation heart surgery?

While the risk of damage to other tissue is a possibility, with cryoablation, that occurrence has been nearly eliminated.

What are potential complications of cryoablation heart surgery?

Heart arrhythmias occur when the electrical impulses in your heart that coordinate your heartbeats do not function properly. This can cause your heart to beat too fast, too slow, or irregularly. Approximately four million American experience heart arrhythmias that can cause bothersome or even dangerous symptoms. These include shortness of breath, fainting or even sudden cardiac death. Treatment of arrhythmias is usually required only if the arrhythmia is causing significant symptoms or if it's putting you at risk for more serious cardiac complications. The first line of treatment normally involves medications. If these are not effective, your doctor may recommend cryoablation or radiofrequency catheter ablation. Arrhythmias that can not be treated with these methods may be candidates for a pacemaker.