Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffCardioversion can correct a heartbeat that's too fast (tachycardia) or irregular (fibrillation). Cardioversion is usually used to treat people who have atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. These are conditions in which the electrical signals that cause your heart to beat in a regular rate and rhythm don't properly travel through the upper chambers of your heart.
Cardioversion is performed when your heart is beating ineffectively. It's different from defibrillation, an emergency procedure that's performed when your heart stops or quivers uselessly. Defibrillation delivers more powerful shocks to the heart to correct its rhythm. Cardioversion is usually scheduled in advance but is sometimes also done in emergency situations.
Cardioversion is usually done with electric shocks, administered through electrodes attached to your chest, while you're sedated. Electric cardioversion takes less time than cardioversion done solely with medications, and your doctor can instantly see if the procedure has restored a normal heartbeat.
If your doctor recommends cardioversion with medications to restore your heart's rhythm, you won't receive electric shocks to your heart.
- Cardioversion. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/crv/crv_all.html. Accessed March 4, 2011.
- Wann LS, et al. 2011 ACCF/AHA/HRS focused update on the management of patients with atrial fibrillation (updating the 2006 guideline): A report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines. Circulation. In press. Accessed March 4, 2011.
- Podrid PJ. Cardioversion for specific arrhythmias. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 4, 2011.
- Podrid PJ. Basic principles and technique for cardioversion and defibrillation. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 4, 2011.
- Nagarakanti R, et al. Dabigatran versus warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation: An analysis of patients undergoing cardioversion. Circulation. 2011;123:131.
Find Mayo Clinic on