Cardioversion

Cardioversion, or resetting the heart back to a normal rhythm, can be accomplished with either medications such as antiarrhythmics or electrical impulses. Patients with atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation may benefit from cardioversion. However, cardioversion is not always effective in the long term. Although it can restore a regular heart rhythm in over 95 percent of patients, more than 50 percent of those eventually return to atrial flutter and require antiarrhythmic medications indefinitely.

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If you're scheduled for an electrical cardioversion, you may need to make some dietary changes, which your doctor will outline.

During an electrical cardioversion procedure, you'll be lightly sedated. Electrode patches will be placed on your back and your chest. One large, circular patch is placed on your chest to the right of your sternum, and a rectangular patch is placed on your back to the left of the spine. These patches are attached to the cardioversion equipment. Smaller patches are placed to monitor your heart on an electrocardiogram (ECG).

After you're sedated, an electrical impulse will be delivered to your heart through the two large patches. If necessary, several impulses will be given to return your heart to a normal rhythm. Most likely you will have no awareness or memory of the procedure. Serious complications are rare but include the development of an even more serious arrhythmia during the procedure or suffering a stroke. The risk of stroke is reduced by using blood thinning medications and having a transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) before the procedure.

You will remain in the hospital for a few hours after the procedure. The only discomfort may come from skin burn on your chest and back where the patches were placed.