How Is Cardioversion Performed?
During cardioversion, your heart and blood pressure are monitored and a short-acting sedative is given. Then an electrical shock is delivered to your chest wall through paddles or patches that stops the abnormal heartbeat and allows your heart to resume a normal rhythm. Your doctor may want to give you blood thinners prior to and for a period after the procedure. In some people, a moderately invasive imaging test called transesophageal echocardiogram (or TEE) may be performed prior to the cardioversion to make sure that the heart is free from blood clots. The TEE is performed by swallowing a narrow tube with a camera at its tip that can be placed against the back wall of the heart. Internal cardioversion may be used in people whose heartbeat did not return to normal after external cardioversion. Internal cardioversion works by delivering an electrical shock through soft wires (catheters) placed in the heart. Because the patient is sedated, the shock isn’t felt. A successful cardioversi
