Patients prepare for cryoablation in the same way patients would prepare for the EPS procedure. Patients will undergo a series of tests, including a blood test and an electrocardiogram. Please do not eat or drink anything for eight hours prior to the procedure.

Also, patients should consult with the electrophysiologist or arrhythmia nurse five days before the procedure to determine if they need to discontinue any medications. Once patients and the doctor have discussed the procedure and specific risks and had questions answered, patients will be required to sign an informed consent form.

A doctor inserts the balloon catheter into a blood vessel, usually in the upper leg, and then threads it though the body until it reaches the heart. This narrow tube has an inflatable balloon on one end that engages the pulmonary vein. Using advanced imaging techniques, the doctor is able to guide the catheter to the heart.

Once the balloon is at the ostium of the pulmonary vein, extreme cold energy flows through the catheter to destroy this small amount of tissue and restore a healthy heart rhythm.

After the procedure, we remove the catheters and take patients to a monitored unit for observation. In most cases, we observe the patient’s heart monitor overnight. If there are no concerns in the morning, patients can go home.

Patients may experience slight chest pain for a few days following the procedure. If patients experience such a symptom, please notify us. Many patients experience skipped heart beats for several months following catheter ablation.

Most patients are treated with heat-based ablation using radiofrequency (RF) catheters, but this procedure has some risk of complications, such as esophageal injury. Cryoablation helps physicians avoid these risks by using cold instead of heat to disable abnormal heart tissue. Unlike heat-based ablation, cryoablation allows physicians to cool tissue to make sure it is the area causing an irregularity. If it is not, the site’s normal electrical function can be restored simply by allowing the tissue to thaw and re-warm.

The success rate of the procedure is generally very good, and depends on many factors, such as the duration of the condition, the presence of valve disease or coronary artery disease, the type of atrial fibrillation (paroxysmal or persistent) and the size of the atria.

However, like any other medical procedure, rare complications can occur. These complications include perforation of the heart, stroke, heart attack, narrowing of the pulmonary veins and bleeding at the entry site in the leg. Your physician will discuss all of these topics with you during your pre-procedure office visit.