Types of Treatment

Treatment for arrhythmia depends on the type and severity of the condition, and whether or not there is an underlying cause, such as heart disease. Non-invasive treatment options include medications to restore normal rhythm, control heart rate, or treat the underlying cause. Invasive treatment options include electrical cardioversion or ablation, implantation of a pacemaker or a cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), or surgery.

• Cardioversion/Ablation: the use of electricity to treat or eliminate arrhythmia by either synchronizing the heart by delivering a shock through the chest wall (cardioversion), or by disrupting abnormal current/contraction pathways through catheter ablation.

• Permanent Pacemakers/ICD: These sophisticated devices are implanted into the chest wall and maintain normal heart rate by sending electrical impulses into the heart when it detects that the heart is bradycardic (pacemaker), or tachycardic and arrhythmic (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator). These implantable devices can last for over a decade and provide on-the-spot intervention for arrhythmia as it happens.

• Cardiac surgery is an option for those that do not experience a remediation of symptoms through medications or implantable devices, or those with other underlying heart conditions.

Health City Cayman Islands offers a comprehensive suite of diagnosis and treatment and maintenance options through our Cardiac Electrophysiology services.

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