Patient Notes
Ablation
Contact Numbers
Hospital No: 519-663-3746
Clinic: 519-645-0146
Procedure Date:
Procedure Time:
Web Site: www.londoncardiac.ca
email: office@londoncardiac.ca
London Cardiac Institute
256 Pall Mall St. Suite 302
London, Ontario, N6A 5P6
Phone: 519-645-0146
Fax: 519-645-1584
Ablations
Upon arrival to the lab, you will be
greeted by the nurses who will be looking after • Damage to blood vessels
you. Once you get comfortable on our table, we • Blood clots in vein
will attach a blood pressure cuff and heart
monitor. The skin of your upper right leg and • Burning through the heart wall
under the left collarbone will be cleaned and you • Stroke
will be covered by sterile drapes. Local
anesthetic (“freezing”) will be injected into the • Need for a pacemaker
skin at the top of the leg and under your collar
bone where an intravenous will then be inserted FAQ’s
to the veins. Through these, we put small wires Q. How long will my ablation take?
A. It depends on the source of your
What is It?Catheter ablation
up to your heart and use them to try to start your
tachycardia, take measurements and map where arrhythmia, and may take anywhere
is a treatment for people who it is located. After that, an ablation catheter is from 1-4 hours
desire a cure for their arrhythmia introduced to deliver the heat or cold therapy.
to avoid the need for ongoing Often, a number of burns or freezes must be Q. Does ablation affect my heart?
medications. Ablation uses one of given to completely eliminate the problem tissue. A. The size of the lesion is only
2 different technologies: We then wait about one half hour and then test to millimeters. It will eliminate the
make sure the problem remains gone. We then electrical problem but it will not
1. Heat therapy: This uses affect the function of your heart.
remove all the wires and you are taken to a room
radiofrequency energy to heat the
to recover.
tip of the catheter and burns the Q. Which doctors would perform the
After catheter ablation, most people are
spot in your heart that is responsible ablation?
truly cured but in a small percentage of people
for your arrhythmia. A. Drs. Gula, Klein, Krahn, Leong-
experience further tachycardia. This can be due
2. Cold therapy: This type of Sit, Skanes & Yee are in charge and
to healing of an ablated spot which need a
ablation uses extreme cold to will supervise the ablation. They
second procedure for further ablation, or
freeze the spot responsible for your work with a team of doctors, nurses
development of a new heart rhythm issue which
arrhythmia. and technicians to make sure the
may or may not benefit from another procedure.
Your ablation: ablation is done properly and safely.
There are 2 parts to the procedure –
first a diagnostic „EP study‟ is
Risks Q. May I go home after?
performed to find out what is A. In the vast majority of cases, yes.
As for all medical procedure, there are small
causing your arrhythmia. If it can risks. The overall risk of a complication is 1-3% If we need to give you blood
be treated by ablation then this is and include: thinners during the procedure, you
done next, during the same • Collapsed Lung may need to stay over night.
procedure. • Bleeding / bruising