Alcohol Septal Ablation for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Minimally invasive treatment for an enlarged heart

This is a procedure our doctors use to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which occurs when the heart muscle is abnormally thick.

The lower two chambers of your heart, the ventricles, are separated by a thin wall of tissue called a septum. If your heart muscle is too thick, the septum can bulge and partially block the flow of blood through the heart.

Alcohol septal ablation uses alcohol, which is toxic to heart muscle, to shrink the abnormal tissue and improve blood flow throughout the body. It’s a less-invasive alternative to septal myectomy

Our Interventional Cardiology Program is home to world-renowned authorities in cardiac catheterization procedures like alcohol septal ablation.

What to expect from alcohol septal ablation

You’ll receive medication to help you relax, but you’ll be awake during the procedure. After giving you anesthetic to numb the area, your doctor will make a small incision in the skin of your wrist or groin and insert a thin, flexible tube called a catheter into a blood vessel there.

The doctor will thread the catheter to the septum between your ventricles, where they’ll release a small amount of alcohol. You may feel some pain or discomfort when the alcohol is released.

The procedure takes about 1 or 2 hours to complete. You also may have a temporary pacemaker for a few days following the procedure.

Afterward, we’ll take you to a recovery room, where you’ll need to stay for a few hours. You’ll likely need to stay in the hospital for a few days after the procedure. Your doctor will discuss when it will be safe for you to resume your normal activities.