These procedures are used to evaluate and treat heart and blood vessel disease (cardiovascular disease or coronary artery disease). Talk to your doctor or heart care professional for more specific information.
Procedures for Abnormal Heart Rhythms
Catheter ablation. This procedure uses radio waves or freezing to silence an abnormal area in the heart’s electrical system, which is usually found during an electrophysiology study. This procedure can break a problematic electrical circuit that is causing an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia).
Permanent pacemaker. A permanent pacemaker is inserted into the upper chest and connected to the heart to provide a reliable heartbeat when the heart’s own rhythm is too slow or irregular.
Internal cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). A defibrillator wire is inserted into the heart and connected to an implanted device in the chest to send out a small amount of electricity when needed to jolt the heart rhythm back to normal. This can be life saving when life threatening rhythms are detected.
Procedures for Heart Disease
Cardiac catheterization. With this procedure, your doctor will place a thin tube called a catheter into the heart through a blood vessel in the leg or arm. Then, a contrast agent is injected and X-rays are taken. This is done to find the narrowing, blockages, and other abnormalities of specific arteries.