Can heart ablation result in scar tissue?

Hi,

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Ablation treats atrial fibrillation, but anticoagulants are continued for a long.

Is the scar found on MRI?

Please send your reports of MRI(magnetic resonance imaging), echocardiography, and ECG (electrocardiogram) so we can guide you accordingly. Also, tell your symptoms.

Thank you.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Your reports (attachments removed for patient identity protection) do not show ablation or scar. Reports say there is an atrial septal defect (ASD) closure device. Otherwise, it is normal. In case of ablation, some scar is formed. Usually, that is harmless.

A large scar can be formed in case of a heart attack, which may cause ventricular arrhythmia. But your report is normal. ASD closure device is there.

Thank you.

Hi,

Welcome back to Icliniq.com.

The ECG (electrocardiogram) report (attachments removed for patient identity protection) you shared is normal. Some abnormal findings are septal infarction and st-t changes, which can occur in a previous heart attack, ablation, or ASD/device.

ECG is always interpreted in the context of clinical history. You do not have a history of heart attacks. Ablation can cause a small scar. Please send ECG and ablation report if possible.

Thank you.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Maybe he has said to you that you are born with a defect in your heart (hole in the heart). The scar is not present from birth; the hole has been present since birth. An ASD (atrial septal defect, a hole between two upper chambers of the heart called atria) can be a risk factor for atrial fibrillation, which can cause a stroke. Even without atrial fibrillation, stroke can occur, such as when a blood clot from veins cross the hole and lodge in brain arteries.

A scar can be harmful if it causes heart failure or cardiac arrhythmia. Your heart's echocardiography will tell about the heart's function and abnormalities in pumping. The report of electrocardiogram (ECG), which you sent, does not mention atrial fibrillation. Maybe atrial fibrillation has resolved after ablation. But anticoagulation should be continued indefinitely to prevent further stroke. You had a hole in your heart by birth, which was closed with a device. This is all which is evident from your reports (attachments removed for patient identity protection).

Thank you.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Your trans-esophageal echocardiography is normal. It shows a normally placed device in ASD (a hole in the heart) without any leakage of blood through it.

Electrocardiogram (ECG) findings are also normal except for 1st-degree AV block, which also has resolved in your latest ECG. This ECG also shows sinus rhythm and not atrial fibrillation.

Thank you.

Hi,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

It is called scar or fibrosis, scarred myocardium, or fibrosed myocardium. It is part of the heart where muscle cells are replaced with fibrous tissue, which does not contract and does not conduct cardiac electrical impulses.

It occurs in the case of

1. Heart attack.
2. Cardiomyopathy.
3. Myocarditis (inflammation of heart muscle).
4. Ablation.
5. Radiation therapy (cancer treatment).

Scarring leads to reduced overall heart contraction leading to left ventricular dysfunction, detected on Echocardiography but best detected with cardiac MRI.

Thank you.