Electrical Cardioversion For Atrial Fibrillation

Treatment Overview

Electrical cardioversion is a treatment for a heartbeat that isn't normal, such as atrial fibrillation. It uses a brief electric shock to reset your heart's rhythm.

Before the treatment, you will get medicine to make you sleepy. You should not feel any pain.

Your doctor will put patches on your chest. Or you might get them on both your chest and back. They send a brief electric current to your heart. In most cases, this restores the heart's normal rhythm right away.

Cardioversion itself takes about 5 minutes. But the whole procedure may take a few hours. That includes time to recover.

Abnormal heart rhythms sometimes come back after the treatment. You may choose to also take medicines. These may help your heart keep its normal rhythm.