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Stanford Health Care

Risks

Our Approach to Ablation

For many people with atrial fibrillation (AFib) and certain other abnormal heart rates known as arrhythmias, medications do not work to reduce their symptoms. Cardiac ablation, a minimally invasive treatment, can successfully treat many arrhythmias, preventing serious complications such as sudden cardiac arrest.

Doctors at Stanford are at the forefront of research to improve cardiac ablation using the latest technologies. Our arrhythmia team is pioneering new ablation therapies that will lead to better outcomes for patients.

WHAT WE OFFER YOU FOR CARDIAC ABLATION

  • Active clinical research to advance new minimally invasive treatments such as cryoballoon ablation. Co-invented by our medical director, this procedure uses extreme cold to freeze arrhythmia-causing heart cells.
  • Leading expertise in FIRM ablation, a new technology for locating and treating the precise regions in your heart that cause arrhythmia. We were one of the first U.S. hospitals to offer this treatment.
  • Close collaboration with Stanford’s cardiac surgeons to develop a hybrid surgical-catheter ablation procedure for people with advanced AFib. A national clinical trial is currently underway.
     

INTERESTED IN AN ONLINE SECOND OPINION?

The Stanford Medicine Online Second Opinion program offers you easy access to our world-class doctors. It’s all done remotely and you don’t have to visit our hospital or one of our clinics for this service. You don’t even need to leave home!

Visit our online second opinion page to learn more.

Make An Appointment

If you are a new patient and want to request and appointment or need help finding a doctor, please call 650-723-6459, Option 3.

If you are a returning patient, call 650-723-6459, Option 2, to request an appointment.

What Is Cardiac Ablation?

Cardiac Ablation Risks

At Stanford, our doctors have years of experience in providing safe, effective cardiac ablation for our patients. Although there are risks with any medical procedure, our doctors take every precaution to minimize complications, which may include:

  • Bleeding, infection, and/or pain at the catheter insertion or incision sites
  • Blood clots, especially in the legs, which can travel to the lungs or brain and cause stroke or pulmonary embolism (blockage of a lung artery)
  • Damage to blood vessels caused by the catheter
  • Damage to the heart’s electrical system, which may require a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to treat
  • Damage to valves or other structures in the heart
  • Increased risk of cancer due to radiation from fluoroscopy (X-rays that display real-time, moving images) used to guide the catheters during the procedure 
  • Possible need for repeat ablation procedures or other treatment
  • Pulmonary vein stenosis, narrowing of the veins that carry blood from the lungs to the heart

Our Clinics

Cardiac Arrhythmia Service

Our experienced electrophysiologists provide superior care with a compassionate touch for people with all types of arrhythmias.

Our team includes experts from several heart specialties with decades of experience in patient-centered care.

View All Locations