Treatment and Management

We provide several safe and effective treatment options for patients with atrial fibrillation. Our doctors have extensive experience and will discuss the best treatment options with you.

• Medications

  Heart rhythm medications, also called antiarrhythmics, control irregular heartbeats — and maintain a normal heart rate and rhythm. Patients with atrial fibrillation may also need to take blood thinning medications to help prevent blood clots and reduce the risk of stroke.

  • Table of Common Heart Medications

• Ablation

  Ablation is a technique typically used to treat abnormal heart rates and rhythms (arrhythmias). It involves ablating (destroying) a very small, targeted area of the heart muscle.

• Watchman Left Atrial Appendage Closure

  You may be eligible for a catheter-based procedure called the Watchman left atrial appendage closure, or “the Watchman procedure”. This procedure can reduce your risk of stroke and eliminate the need to take blood thinning medications. It does not, however, treat your atrial fibrillation. You may need to continue other heart medications or treatments.

• MAZE Procedure (Heart Rhythm Surgery)

  The MAZE procedure is an open heart surgical procedure that treats atrial fibrillation by creating therapeutic scars on the heart muscle.

• GALAXY Procedure (Heart Rhythm Surgery)

  The GALAXY procedure is a revolutionary, minimally invasive operation developed at Intermountain Heart Institute. The procedure is designed to treat atrial fibrillation without the use of the heart-lung machine and with smaller, less painful incisions.