Electrophysiological Study

• Diagnostic catheters are typically placed in:
  • The right atrium
  • His bundle
  • The right ventricle
  • Coronary sinus
• Each intracardiac catheter records impulses directly from the endocardium
• Catheters can generate impulses and artificially induce arrhythmias
  • This is used for arrhythmia diagnosis

Catheter Ablation

• Is a therapeutic procedure during an electrophysiological study
• Involves irreversible damage (destruction) of the anatomical area
  • Which is responsible for the development of arrhythmia
• The most commonly used technique is radiofrequency ablation (RFA)
  • RFA involves burning tissue with high-frequency current
  • Less commonly, cryoablation (freezing tissue) is used
• RFA is used in the treatment of:
  • AVNRT
  • Atrial Flutter
  • AVRT
  • Frequent Ventricular Extrasystoles from the Outflow Tract of the Right Ventricle
  • Idiopathic Ventricular Tachycardia