Your heart can go back into AFib after cardioversion as a cardioversion is not a permanent cure or fix for AFib.
80 out of 100 people who have had a cardioversion experience AFib again within a year.
The difference between cardioversion and ablation is the cardioversion is a procedure to get your heartbeat back to the normal rhythm and the ablation is a procedure to keep the normal heart rhythm.
Cardioversion is high risk as it comes with some serious possible complications such as dislodged blood clots although most people come out of a cardioversion without any issues.
While cardioversion can make blood clots move and cause life threatening complications it's rare for this to occur.
If you already have one or more blood clots in your heart then the cardioversion can be delayed for 3 to 4 weeks.
Most people come out of a cardioversion just fine without any complications.
The anesthesia that is used for cardioversion is either propofol, etomidate, thiopentone or methohexital.
Cardioversion can work as quickly as a few minutes, hours or sometimes days.
However for most people the cardioversion works to restore a normal heart rhythm right away.
Medications that should be stopped before cardioversion are blood thinners and aspirin because these medications can increase the risk of bleeding.
The length of time it takes to do a cardioversion is around 5 minutes in most cases.
A common complication of cardioversion is heart damage which is usually temporary and sometimes heart failure, skin damage, dislodged blood clot that can cause stroke, pulmonary embolism and other health problems.
After cardioversion you'll need to take blood thinners for at least 4 weeks after the cardioversion and you'll also need to take blood thinners for at least 3 weeks before the cardioversion procedure.
Cardioversion does sometimes affect your blood pressure and it may either temporarily lower your blood pressure or raise your blood pressure.
Cardioversion may cause cardiac output and blood pressure to improve or deteriorate.
Cardioversion usually decreases heart rate.
After cardioversion you will feel soreness or discomfort in your chest wall for a couple of days and the medicine you take after the cardioversion can make you feel sleepy and drowsy for the rest of the day.
And you might also have some redness like a sunburn where the patches were.
You won't feel better immediately after cardioversion and you might feel some soreness or discomfort in the chest wall for a few days.
You may also have to take some medicines to help your heart beat normally and to prevent any possible blood clots.
After awhile you should begin feeling better after the cardioversion.
Cardioversion is safe for the elderly although it's not recommended in elderly people.
Available temporary pacing is also mandatory to avoid any unnecessary bradycardia episodes.
People who cannot or at least should not have cardioversion are the elderly or if you have minor symptoms or if you have had AFib a long time or other major medical problems.
People who are not a candidate for cardioversion are people who cannot take anticoagulant medicines to be able to have a transesophageal echocardiogram, people who have a blood clot that has traveled to the heart or people who have arrhythmia due to drug toxicity.
The average cost of a cardioversion is $1,189.00 to $1,823.00 which health insurance should pay for although you may need to pay a copay or deductible.
The next step if cardioversion fails is catheter ablation which is a procedure that destroys the heart tissue that causes irregularity.
After a cardioversion you are not hospitalized and can return home the same day.
After a cardioversion you do not need to stay overnight and can most often go home the same day unless you have any complications.
After the cardioversion you'll need someone to drive you home and your ability to make decisions can be affected for several hours.
The medication that is given after cardioversion is amiodarone.
After a cardioversion you will most likely need to take medication to stabilize your heart rate and ultimately prevent atrial fibrillation from recurring.
You can safely have cardioversion done as many times as needed although at some point it becomes futile to do anymore cardioversion procedures.
There have been some people who have had 20 to 25 cardioversion procedures done.
The recovery time after cardioversion is around 24 to 48 hours in which you should be able to return to normal activities and also drive and work.
Things you should not do after cardioversion are not drive for at least 24 hours after the cardioversion, do not work, do not operate any machinery and do not make any important decisions or sign any legally binding documents and also do not drink any alcohol after a cardioversion.
The disadvantages of cardioversion are potential risks such as dislodged blood clots which can move to other parts of the body and also possible damage to the heart which can lead to more arrhythmias.
The success rate of cardioversion is 90 percent or more.
Cardioversion lasts around 5 minutes although recovery can take around a few hours.
Before the cardioversion procedure you may also take some blood thinner medicine and rhythm control medicines.
Cardioversion is a very safe procedure and it's very unlikely that any serious complications will arise from a cardioversion.
With cardioversion there is however a small risk of developing blood clots which can travel from the heart to the body.
The surgeon and doctors are aware of this and will give you some blood thinning medications to prevent the blood clots from happening.
An electrical cardioversion is an outpatient procedure.
Most people who have a cardioversion done are at the hospital around three hours.
Before the cardioversion treatment, you'll receive an IV catheter, which facilitates delivery of medications that keep you relaxed and pain-free during the procedure.
Cardioversion doesn't always fix a fast or irregular heartbeat.
You may need medicine or a pacemaker to control things.
It might make things worse: It's unlikely, but there's a small chance that cardioversion could damage your heart or lead to more arrhythmias.
Electrical cardioversion works better and is used more often than chemical cardioversion.
Your doctor may not want you to have cardioversion if you have minor symptoms.
Cardioversion also may not be recommended if you are elderly, if you have had AFib a long time, or if you have other major medical problems.
Cardioversion is a treatment to restore a normal heartbeat when your heart is beating too fast or with an irregular rhythm.
It's often used to treat atrial fibrillation, the most common kind of irregular beat.
Wires connect the sensors to a cardioversion machine. The machine records your heart rhythm.
It delivers quick, low-energy shocks to the heart to restore a regular heart rhythm.
Electric cardioversion usually takes only a few minutes to complete.
Cardioversion itself takes about 5 minutes.
But the whole procedure, including recovery, may take a few hours.
You may take rhythm-control medicines and a blood-thinner medicine before and after cardioversion.
Electrical cardioversion is more than 90% effective, though many have AFib again shortly after having it.
After the cardioversion procedure, you may have redness, like a sunburn, where the patches were.
The medicines you got to make you sleepy may make you feel drowsy for the rest of the day.
You may also feel soreness or discomfort in your chest wall for a few days.