Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Ankara
Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common heart rhythm disorders. Although it is a type of arrhythmia usually seen in the elderly, it can also occur in younger people. Atrial fibrillation can progress for many years without any symptoms. The main symptom is heart palpitations. If it is left untreated, it greatly increases the risk of stroke in the elderly. It can also cause an enlarged heart and poor functioning of the heart. The most effective method used in the treatment of atrial fibrillation is ablation. Atrial fibrillation ablation is an ideal treatment alternative, especially for patients who cannot use medication, whose rhythm cannot be controlled despite using medication, or who seek a more permanent solution to arrhythmia. For more detailed information about atrial fibrillation ablation in Ankara, you can contact Prof. Basri Amasyalı and make an appointment.
What is Atrial Fibrillation?
Atrial fibrillation is a rhythm disorder that occurs as a result of the irregularity of the stimuli that keep the heart working in a certain order. Normally, the stimuli that travel regularly in the small chamber of the heart, namely the atrium, become irregular due to the irregular stimuli originating from hundreds of different focuses in the atria and especially in the left atrium. In other words, a regular rhythm in the atria completely disappears and an irregular rhythm emerges that can increase the heart rate up to 150-200 beats per minute. If the person has other heart diseases accompanied by atrial fibrillation, the pumping power of the heart can decrease by 20-30%. After a while, AF can cause the existing complaints of the patients to increase and cause life risks.
What Are the Symptoms of Atrial Fibrillation?
The most characteristic symptom of atrial fibrillation is heart palpitations. The patients with AF have a very high heart rate and an intermittent irregular rhythm. As a result, frequent palpitations can occur. Depending on the high heart rate, patients get tired more quickly and, although rare, undesirable situations such as fainting can occur. However, some patients do not feel palpitations directly. Instead, it can come with different complaints such as shortness of breath, restlessness, imbalance in blood pressure. In addition, the first complaint in some of the patients can be due to embolism.
When Atrial Fibrillation Is Untreated;
- It can cause serious heart problems. Cardiac enlargement and heart failure come first among them.
- During atrial fibrillation, there is a risk of developing a blood clot, especially in the left atrium of the heart. This risk is higher especially in the elderly and individuals with hypertension, heart valve disease, diabetes and overweight individuals. In such a case, if the clot formed in the heart clogs the brain vessel, the person develops a stroke. In some patients, the clot can block the vessels of our kidneys or other internal organs, disrupting the nutrition of those organs and causing the loss of our organ. In some cases, the clot can cause leg gangrene by blocking the arteries that feed our feet.
- In the heart that works at high speed and irregularly for a long time, there will be enlargement and weakening of the heart muscle over time. In such a case, the body gets tired much more quickly because the heart does not pump enough blood. Since enough oxygen cannot be obtained from the blood, complaints such as shortness of breath and chest pain can also occur.
How to Treat Atrial Fibrillation?
Atrial fibrillation is a condition that can be treated with both medical drugs and interventional means called ablation. Today, the most effective method in the treatment of atrial fibrillation is ablation. Medical drugs are usually directed at suppressing atrial fibrillation and controlling symptoms. Therefore, it does not have full healing properties. In other words, it does not destroy the problem areas that cause AF; it keeps these areas under pressure. In addition, even if the patient has benefited from rhythm-regulating drugs, he/she should use drugs with serious side effects regularly for life.
What is Atrial Fibrillation Ablation?
Ablation is one of the most preferred methods in the treatment of AF, as it is in the treatment of many rhythm disorders. Atrial fibrillation is caused by abnormal focuses in the left atrium in 90% of patients. The purpose of the treatment of atrial fibrillation with ablation; it is the elimination of these abnormal focuses, especially the left atrium, which disrupts the heart rhythm, by burning or freezing. It is a treatment approach that should be considered first, especially for patients who cannot use drugs for various reasons or who do not have an adequate response to drug treatment.
Success in AF ablation varies greatly from patient to patient. The biggest reason for this is how much damage AF has done to your heart. While our chance of getting rid of AF for many years can be up to 80% in early ablations, this rate drops to 50% in late ablations. That is why it is not too late to have ablation because the drugs are good for me.
How to Perform Atrial Fibrillation Ablation?
AF ablation is a procedure that takes approximately 1 – 1.5 hours. The procedure is done in the angio laboratory. By using the right and sometimes both inguinal regions, the catheter cables are delivered to the heart through 2 mm thick plastic tubing. No incision is made. No scalpel is used. Since it is a sedation (deep sleep) procedure, most patients do not feel any pain or ache. Very rarely, general anesthesia can be used in some patients, considering the patient’s comfort. But sedation is sufficient in 95% of patients. The recovery period after the procedure is also very short. Patients are discharged immediately after 24 hours and can continue their daily activities from where they left off.
Atrial fibrillation ablation can be done in two different ways:
Warm atrial fibrillation ablation: By applying heat between 50 and 70 degrees to the area causing arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation ablation can be done in two different ways. It is an ablation application that burns the damaged area.
Cold atrial fibrillation ablation: Unlike warm ablation, it is an ablation application that freezes the damaged area with a cold application between -50 and -70 degrees.
You can get more detailed information about these topics by watching the videos on my website.
(In the picture, you can see the Atrial Fibrillation ablation recording made with warm ablation by using the “3D mapping technique”. In this technique, a 3-dimensional image of the heart (the CARTO system is used here) is revealed using a cable-shaped catheter, and the targeted areas of the heart are burned with an average temperature of 40-50 degrees, point by point, with the help of a 4 mm thick electrode at the tip of the catheter.)
(You can see the Atrial Fibrillation ablation performed with the cooling method (Cryoablation) in the picture. In this method, a catheter with a 28 mm diameter balloon is used. This balloon is inflated in 4 targeted areas of the heart, and a cooling or freezing process between -50 and -70 degrees is provided in these areas. In the picture, you can see the balloon (red arrow) that is inflated in the left atrium of the heart and provides the freezing process.)
Ankara Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Treatment
The longer AF persists, the less likely it is to respond to drug treatment. For this reason, ablation treatment gives very effective results in people who have been trying to cope with AF for a long time and who are looking for a permanent or effective solution to AF. The role of an experienced team in the success of the operation is also great. Atrial fibrillation ablation is a low-risk, high-success procedure as long as it is performed by an experienced cardiologist.
Unfortunately, ablation cannot be performed on every AF patient. If the AF time is too long, severe damage to the left atrium of the heart and significant enlargement of the left atrium, we have lost our chance of ablation. That’s why every AF patient should go for regular checkups.
In Ankara, you can contact our clinic for more detailed information about atrial fibrillation ablation and its prices.
