heart problem stuff

[arethinn]

Here's the fancy big word: atrial tachycardia: rapid heartbeat arising from areas of muscle in the atria of the heart. My eyes glaze over trying to read this reference article, but what my dad said the doctor told him was that if beta-blockers or other drugs didn't work, what they do is not implant a defibrillator, but actually kill the "hot spot" of heart muscle that is the source of the bad signals. From the sound of this article I think that's radio frequency catheter ablation. That sounds really spooky to me but apparently it's fairly regular stuff, not some kind of wacky experimental or highly risky thing (except, I suppose, for the normal risks associated with surgery when you're almost 71).