Septal ablation helps patients who have hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.
This inherited condition causes excessive muscle growth in the muscle wall that separates the left and right (the ventricles interventricular septum). This limits blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta, the main vessel of the heart, forcing the heart to pump harder.
After the procedure, the intraventricular septum muscle is smaller so the heart works better. This new procedure involves injecting pure alcohol into the arteries that feed the intraventricular septum. This causes a mild heart attack that thins the affected muscle.
The procedure, which is done in the Cardiovascular Intervention Center under local anesthesia, takes 90 minutes.
