What you need to know about the coronavirus and temporary visitor restrictions at our hospitals.

Menu
Close Search Opener

Cardioversion

If Afib medication management (pharmacologic cardioversion) doesn’t help your arrhythmia, your doctor may recommend electrical cardioversion.

With this minimally-invasive procedure, your doctor delivers an electrical shock to your heart. This disrupts the impulses causing your arrhythmia and “resets” your heart to a normal rhythm.

Cardioversion at Henry Ford

Our heart rhythm specialists may recommend electrical cardioversion if you need fast treatment for severe symptoms. The electrical shock delivered during cardioversion can restore a normal heart rhythm in less than a minute.

In our specialized electrophysiology or EP labs, our doctors can test the electrical activity of your heart and determine whether cardioversion is right for you.

How cardioversion works

While the actual electrical shock takes only a few seconds, you should plan for at least two hours for the cardioversion procedure and recovery time. Here’s what to expect:

  • You will be sedated for the procedure.
  • A specialist will place electrode patches on your chest and back that connect to a defibrillator, which delivers an electrical current to your heart
  • Your doctor monitors your heart rhythm throughout the procedure. It may take one, or more, shocks to restore a regular heartbeat.
  • Your doctor may recommend that you take blood-thinning medications for several weeks to prevent blood clots from forming. You also may need to take antiarrhythmic medications.
  • Some patients need to repeat the procedure in order to maintain a normal heart rhythm.

Read more about our Electrophysiology Services.

Make a cardiology appointment

Fill out the form to be seen in southeast Michigan.

Request an Appointment
Close

Schedule Appointment Online

If you are having an emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. Please do not utilize this scheduling feature for urgent medical situations.

Henry Ford Health System is committed to ensuring our Deaf or hard-of-hearing patients and visitors have equal access to all services. We provide the appropriate auxiliary aids and services, including qualified sign language interpreters, TTYs and other assistive listening devices, at no cost. To request assistance, call 313-916-1896 or email CommunicationAccess@hfhs.org.

If you have traveled to China, Iran, Italy, Japan or South Korea in the last 14 days or been in close contact with someone suspected to have the COVID-19 (Coronavirus), please contact our nurse line @ 313- 874-7500 prior to scheduling.

Schedule Appointment for