Convergent Procedure

Here’s what happens during a Convergent procedure for atrial fibrillation:

1. A healthcare provider gives you general anesthesia so you’ll sleep and won’t feel pain.
2. A cardiothoracic surgeon makes a cut below the bottom of your breastbone (sternum). The cut is about 3 to 4 centimeters (1 to 1.5 inches) long.
3. They cut through the pericardium, or sac around the outside of your heart.
4. They insert an endoscope to help them see.
5. A surgeon uses a catheter (thin tube with wires that carry energy) to ablate (damage) certain areas of the outside of your heart. These areas include your left atrium’s back wall and openings to your pulmonary veins. This part of the procedure can take 60 to 90 minutes.
6. A surgeon puts a short-term drain in your chest and closes the cut.
7. Sometimes, a surgeon also closes off your left atrial appendage to help reduce your risk of stroke. This extra step makes it a “Convergent Plus” procedure.

The second part of the Convergent procedure involves a second catheter ablation. An electrophysiologist uses a catheter that goes through a blood vessel in your groin and up to your heart. The provider ablates the inside of your heart, treating spots that are harder to reach from outside your heart. This part may happen six weeks later in a separate procedure. If so, you’ll have moderate sedation or general anesthesia during it.

A Convergent procedure for atrial fibrillation takes an average of three hours. It’ll take longer if you have a Convergent Plus procedure.

A healthcare provider may give you medicines after your procedure. These may include steroids to prevent inflammation.

You’ll have follow-up visits with your provider after your procedure. You may receive a Holter monitor at some of these appointments. The monitor can give your provider a recording of your heart’s electrical activity for hours or days at a time. This can tell them if you’re having any atrial fibrillation.