Indications of Catheter Ablation in the Treatment of Cardiac Arrhythmias

Abstract

Cardiac arrhythmias can be primitive or associated with a variety of cardiovascular conditions. Arrhythmias may be responsible for an important alteration of quality of life, syncope, heart failure, thromboembolic events, or sudden death. Their treatment includes antiarrhythmic medications and/or ablation. The choice is influenced by the type of arrhythmia, medical history, benefits and risks of each strategy in an individual patient, and patient preference. Ablation is the destruction of the cardiac structure responsible for the arrhythmia by using a source of energy which is usually radiofrequency and in some cases cryotherapy. We review the indications of ablation techniques in the treatment of atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, atrioventricular nodal reentry, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, and ventricular tachycardia.