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St. Mary is one of the first hospitals in the region to offer catheter ablation as
a treatment for atrial fibrillation, the most common abnormal heart rhythm and also
the most difficult to treat. The first atrial ablation was
performed at St. Mary in April 2006.
In this minimally invasive procedure done
in advanced electrophysiology labs at St. Mary, an interventional
electrophysiologist guides a slender catheter into the heart. Once the
catheter is positioned, tiny sensors in the tip read the catheter’s
location using triangulation methods similar to global positioning
systems. At the same time, precise electrical activity is gathered and fed
into a computer creating color-coded maps of the heart’s electrical
pathways allowing these highly skilled physicians to pinpoint the abnormal
tissue causing the heart to beat too rapidly or at irregular intervals.
The electrophysiologist then precisely positions an ablation catheter to
deliver radiofrequency energy to modify the abnormal electrical pathways
and restore the heart's normal rhythm.
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| Ablation catheter used to deliver
radiofrequency energy |
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