EP Study & Ablation: What to Expect

An EP study is a procedure known as an electrophysiology study, which is conducted to determine the cause of heart arrhythmia. Depending on the results of the EP study, your doctor may recommend undergoing a catheter ablation to treat the arrhythmia. A catheter ablation is one of a number of procedures that could result from an EP study, and is one of the most common.

EP Study

• Your doctor is the first step to an EP study.

  If you have been asked to undergo an EP study it is because you have cardiac arrhythmia. Cardiac arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat. An EP study is intended to discover the source of cardiac arrhythmia and determine what treatment would be best suited to your symptoms. Once the decision to undergo an EP study has been made, there are a number of things to do before the procedure actually occurs.

Before the Procedure

• There are a number of things to do before undergoing a procedure.

  The first thing to remember is that you must not eat or drink after midnight on the day of the procedure and until the procedure is over. The only exception to this is when you must take medications as prescribed--these should be taken with a small sip of water. Be sure to tell your doctor if you have any allergies to seafood, x-ray dye, or iodine; if you think you may be pregnant; you are taking blood-thinning medication or have bleeding problems; and if you are diabetic.

Tests Prior to the Procedure

• An EP study is a simple procedure.

  You will undergo blood tests, x-rays, and an electrocardiogram before the EP study begins. You will be awake during the entire procedure. You will be allowed to wear glasses, hearing aids, and dentures, and your hands may be strapped to the operating table. You will be given a sedative and an intravenous needle will be started. A bladder catheter may be started at the same time. Your blood pressure will be monitored throughout the procedure for your safety.

The Procedure

• To begin the procedure, an anesthetic will be applied to the groin. Two plastic tubes, or sheaths, will be inserted into one vein and one artery in the groin area. A thin, flexible tube, called a catheter, will also be inserted and guided to your heart. The doctor will watch the progress of the catheter over x-ray. This process should be entirely painless. The doctor will then use the catheter to stimulate arrhythmia. If the arrhythmia needs to be stopped at any point the doctor can stop it immediately. If a shock must be administered to stop the arrhythmia, you will not be able to feel it. This procedure should take one to three hours. Tell your doctor if you feel any pain at all during your EP study.

Catheter Ablation

• Catheter ablations are intended to fix irregularities in the heart beat.

  If a catheter ablation is required as a result of the EP study, it will usually be administered while you are still in the EP lab. Ablation destroys the tissue responsible for the arrhythmia using concentrated sound waves. Depending on the result of the EP study, the tissue may be the reason for the irregularity of the heart beat. A number of catheter ablations may be administered during the same procedure. The catheters will then be removed.

After the Procedure

• The most important thing to do after a catheter ablation is relax.

  Your blood pressure will be monitored for two to three hours after the procedure. You may have some bruising and swelling where the catheter was inserted. If you underwent a catheter ablation then you will be held overnight at the hospital. Ensure that someone will drive you home after the procedure and do not exert yourself for at least seven days afterwards. Also attempt to avoid rubbing the ablation site.