DISCLAIMER: THIS PAGE CONTAINS A GENERAL EDUCATIONAL DISCUSSION ON THE ABOVE TOPIC. IT IS NOT HEALTH ADVICE AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS SUCH. YOU SHOULD NEVER RELY UPON THE INFORMATION GIVEN HERE. YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES MAY WELL REQUIRE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT APPROACH. YOU SHOULD NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES IN YOUR MEDICATIONS, DIET, ACTIVITY, LIFESTYLE, ETC. WITHOUT FIRST CONSULTING A LICENSED PHYSICIAN IN YOUR AREA.
You have all seen this on television and in the movies. This is where electrical paddles are placed on a patient's chest and a jolt of electricity is given to convert an abnormal heart beat to a normal one.
What you see dramatized on television is the use of this procedure in emergency situations when the abnormal heart beat results in a dangerously low blood pressure or no blood pressure at all. In these situations, the patient is at immediate risk of death if the procedure is not done right away.
Electrical cardioversion is also done as an electric procedure for less serious abnormal heart rhythms that do not need to be treated as an emergency. The most common abnormal heart rhythms in this category are atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter.
The procedure is done in the hospital. Patients are generally admitted to the hospital on the morning of the procedure. The only preparation for this procedure is not eating anything by mouth after midnight the night before the procedure. Morning medicines are usually given-with the exception of digoxin which is often withheld. The procedure is performed under deep sedation with a quick acting anesthetic. Patients can be released from the hospital after several hours of observation following the procedure.
Electrical cardioversion is the quickest and most effective method to convert an abnormal rhythm back to normal. An alternative form of treatment is medications but they take longer to work, have a lower rate of success than electrical cardioversion and have potential side effects.
One of the biggest concerns about cardioverting atrial fibrillation is that blood clots may be dislodged from the chambers of the heart during or following the procedure, For this reason, many patients have to have their blood thinned for several weeks before and after the procedure to minimize the chance of this occurrence. Some patients may also undergo a transesophageal echocardiogram before the procedure to insure there are no blood clots in the heart.
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