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By Mayo Clinic staffCardioversion procedures are usually scheduled in advance, although if your symptoms are severe, you may need to undergo cardioversion in an emergency setting.
You typically can't eat or drink anything for 12 hours before your procedure. Your doctor will instruct you on whether you should take any of your regular medications before your procedure. If you do take medications before your procedure, sip only enough water to swallow your pills.
Before cardioversion, you may have a procedure called a transesophageal echocardiogram to check for blood clots in your heart, which can be dislodged by cardioversion, causing life-threatening complications. Your cardiologist will decide if you need a transesophageal echocardiogram before cardioversion.
In a transesophageal echocardiogram, your throat is numbed and a flexible tube containing a transducer is guided down your throat and into your esophagus, which connects your mouth to your stomach. From there, the transducer can obtain more detailed images of your heart so your doctor can check for blood clots.
If your doctor finds blood clots, your cardioversion procedure will be delayed for a few weeks while you take blood-thinning medications to dissolve the clots, reducing your risk of complications.
- Cardioversion. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/crv/crv_all.html. Accessed March 24, 2009.
- Fuster V, et al. ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 guidelines for the management of patients with atrial fibrillation - Executive summary. Circulation. 2006;114:700.
- Podrid PJ. Cardioversion for specific arrhythmias. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 24, 2009.
- Podrid PJ. Basic principles and technique for cardioversion and defibrillation. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 24, 2009.
