Procedure Can Fix Heart Rhythm

Burning a bit of heart tissue can help to stop one type of abnormal rhythm, a study found. The study evaluated a treatment for atrial fibrillation. In this type of heart rhythm, the upper chambers quiver rather than beat normally. The study included 167 people who had not been helped by drug treatment. Most received catheter ablation. This treatment uses radiofrequency energy to destroy the small section of heart tissue that causes the abnormal rhythm. Other patients were given a drug they had not tried before. About 66% of those who had catheter ablation returned to a normal heart rhythm within 9 months. Only 16% of those on a new drug regime had this result. The difference was so large that researchers stopped the study early. The study was in the Journal of the American Medical Association. HealthDay News wrote about it January 26.