Heat Ablation Turkey
Heat ablation is the treatment in which the area causing the arrhythmia in the heart is removed under high heat.
Rhythm disorders are one of the most common heart diseases. This disorder, known as “arrhythmia” in the medical language, can occur for many reasons. Cardiac arrhythmia can be treated with various drugs and advanced ablation techniques. In order to apply these treatments, it must first be determined from which part of the heart the arrhythmia originates. Thus, the treatment needed by the patient can be planned and performed in the most appropriate way.
Unlike drug treatments, ablation therapy aims to permanently treat the arrhythmia in the heart. Arrhythmia (rhythm disorder) drugs ensure that the heart rhythm is regulated during the time they are used. Serious health problems may occur if these drugs are neglected, forgotten or not available when needed. In ablation treatment, the area causing the rhythm disturbance is removed in one go. Thus, many patients are saved from using rhythm-regulating drugs for life. In the rest of our article, we will talk about how heat ablation, which is one of the ablation methods, is done and its advantages.
You can call us to get detailed information about heat ablation therapy in Turkey, You can make an appointment with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ömer Uz.
What is Ablation?
Ablation is a Latin word meaning “to destroy”. In ablation treatment, the problematic areas that cause rhythm disturbances are destroyed. Thus, the heart becomes able to continue its task with a regular rhythm.
Ablation treatment can be performed with two different methods. In the first of these methods, nitrogen gas, which is a very cold substance, is used. With the help of nitrogen gas, the problematic area causing rhythm disturbance in the heart is frozen. With freezing, the area loses its function and its negative effects on the heart are eliminated. This process is known as Cold Ablation.
The other method is the Heat Ablation process. You can review the rest of our article to get detailed information about our main topic, heat ablation.
What is Heat Ablation?
In the hot ablation treatment, the problematic area that causes disturbances in the rhythm of the heart is burned with a controlled heat treatment. The controlled heat we are talking about is produced using radiofrequency waves. Radiofrequency waves warm the area up to 60 to 90 degrees. Thus, the problematic area that causes arrhythmia in the heart loses its vital activities.
Which Diseases Is Heat Ablation Used To Treat?
Heat ablation can be used to treat diseases such as:
- Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT).
- Ventricular tachycardia.
- Atrial premature beat (APS).
- Ventricular premature beat (VPS).
- Atrial fibrillation (AF).
- Wolff – Parkinson – White Syndrome.
- Atrial flutter.
As can be seen, heat ablation is used in the treatment of many types of arrhythmias.
To Whom Is Heat Ablation Treatment Performed?
Heat ablation is a treatment that can be applied to patients of all ages. Both adult and pediatric patients with arrhythmias can undergo heat ablation. Before the heat ablation procedure, the type of rhythm disorder is determined. If there is a rhythm disorder as we mentioned above, heat ablation treatment can be performed.
What are the Advantages of Heat Ablation Method?
Advantages of heat ablation therapy include:
- The biggest advantage of heat ablation therapy is that it can eliminate the need for drug use for patients who have to use drugs for life. Medical therapy is often functional. In other words, arrhythmia drugs do their function properly. However, these drugs have some serious side effects and it is possible to experience some of these serious side effects when used continuously. However, another disadvantage of using the drug continuously is the risk of delaying, forgetting or not being able to find the drug. Disrupting medications such as arrhythmia medications can lead to serious health problems.
- Heat ablation therapy is a quick procedure.
- After heat ablation, patients can return to their daily lives after an overnight hospital stay.
- In ablation treatments performed with the heat ablation method, the area planned to be dysfunctional can be destroyed with a much higher success rate.
- Heat ablation therapy is less costly than cold ablation therapy.
How to do Heat Ablation?
Before the heat ablation treatment, the patient is consciously sedated with special drugs. If the patient has a special condition, general anesthesia may also be preferred. In both cases, patients do not feel pain and discomfort.
The heat ablation method is performed in almost the same way as the electrophysiological study (EPS). In the heat ablation treatment, an extra catheter (thin cable) is used, unlike the EPS process. This catheter is known as the “Ablation Catheter”. After sedation or anesthesia, the catheters are delivered to the heart with the help of veins located in the inguinal region of the patient. With the help of these catheters, first the type of rhythm disorder and its origin are determined. Then, the area where the problem is located is heated with the ablation catheter. Thus, the area causing the arrhythmia loses its vital activities and ceases to affect the rhythm of the heart. The heat ablation procedure ends in almost 1 hour. However, this period may vary from person to person, depending on which region the arrhythmia originates from.
What Should Be Considered After Heat Ablation?
After heat ablation therapy, patients can be accommodated in the hospital overnight. In this process, the patient’s vital signs such as blood pressure and pulse are checked regularly. They are then discharged. There are some situations that should be considered during the healing process after heat ablation, these are:
- Patients should stay away from sports activities for a while.
- They should not do heavy, tiring and challenging work.
- They should rest for the time recommended by the doctor.
Within 2 weeks after hot ablation, a great improvement is seen. At the end of the 2nd week, patients can return to their daily lives with the advice of a doctor.
