Cardioversion is carried out frequently in Hospitals and is quite safe in good trained and expert hands. Like any procedure it does carry some risks
Cardioversion
The best treatment for atrial fibrillation is cardioversion. Cardioversion is a procedure used to reset the rhythm of the heart to normal. This procedure is most commonly recommended by doctors.
Medication to thin the blood is usually given for at least three weeks before elective cardioversion. Food intake should be stopped eight hours before the procedure.
Yes, my sister died from cardioversion. The first time she had it she was fine, so she had no concern whatsoever when it was recommended the second time. However right after the procedure her blood pressure dropped and she was kept in the hospital all day while they tried to get her BP up. Sadly she died before nightfall. So yes there id certainly a possibility of death from cardioversion.
Defibrillation also known as cardioversion.
permanent pacemakers; implantable cardioverter-defibrillator; ablation therapy; heart surgery, including the Maze procedure and the pulmonary vein isolation procedure
Most often, cardioversion is used to treat atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. Life-saving cardioversion can be used to treat ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation.
Management options for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation includes cardioversion with drugs, electrical cardioversion, medications for maintaining a normal heart rhythm and heart rate control, atrioventricular node ablation, radiofrequency catheter ablation, surgical maze procedure, and medications for preventing blood clots.
Unfortunately, in a number of cases, the heart prefers its abnormal rhythm and reverts to it despite cardioversion.
Cardioversion is used to stop this abnormal beating so that the heart can begin normal rhythm and pump more efficiently.
From the related link, Synchronized Cardioversion is: --A controlled form of defibrillation for patients who still have organized cardiac activity with a pulse.
The first steps of an elective cardioversion typically involve obtaining informed consent from the patient, ensuring the patient is fasting before the procedure, confirming the patient's anticoagulation status and correcting any electrolyte abnormalities. Pre-procedure sedation may also be administered as needed.