Doctors perform cardiac ablations in an electrophysiology laboratory. The whole procedure takes a couple of hours typically. Also, the doctor may perform the cardiac ablation under local or general anesthesia with sedation. After giving the anesthesia, the doctor cleans the area of the skin then makes it numb. Then, the doctor inserts the catheter through the blood vessel and guides it all the way to the heart. Usually, the doctor also injects a contrast dye to allow more visibility so he/she can see the areas of the heart with abnormal muscles. After that, the specialist delivers a burst of electricity or energy through the catheter to destroy the abnormal heart tissues and correct the irregular heartbeat.

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