What are the treatments for atrial fibrillation and flutter?
Atrial fibrillation and flutter are usually treated with medications and/or electrical shock (cardioversion). In some cases, removal of a small portion of the heart (ablation), implantation of a pacemaker or a cardioverter defibrillator, or maze surgery is needed. If the heart rate cannot be quickly controlled, electrical cardioversion may be used. Cardioversion, the electric shock to the chest wall, is usually performed emergencies. This device briefly suspends the heart’s activity and allows it to return to a normal rhythm. Ablation destroys the heart tissue that causes the arrhythmia. 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
