AFib Ablation · Houston, TX
AFib ablation in Houston.
If medication has not controlled your atrial fibrillation, or the side effects have become their own problem, ablation is usually the next conversation. It is the one treatment for AFib that aims at the cause rather than the symptom.
What ablation does
Treating the cause, not just the symptom.
Atrial fibrillation usually starts with disorganized electrical signals firing from the pulmonary veins where they enter the left atrium. An ablation isolates those veins electrically so the chaotic signals can no longer drive the rhythm.
No chest incision
The procedure is done through catheters threaded from a vein in the groin. Most patients go home the same day or the next morning.
Performed under sedation
Carried out at one of our affiliated Houston hospitals. You will not be awake for it.
The same physician throughout
Dr. Boone evaluates, performs, and follows every ablation personally. The physician who maps your heart is the one who sees you at your six-month follow-up.
Recovery
Expect chest soreness and fatigue for a few days and lifting restrictions for about a week. Desk work usually resumes within a few days.
Is it right for you?
Ablation is not automatically the answer.
Before recommending a procedure, Dr. Boone reviews the whole picture. Some patients do better with a change in medication, and some need the underlying drivers addressed first.
Your rhythm pattern
Paroxysmal AFib that comes and goes generally responds better than long-standing persistent AFib.
What you have already tried
Which medications, at what doses, and how well you tolerated them.
Stroke risk and anticoagulation
Ablation does not by itself end the need for a blood thinner in every patient. That decision follows your stroke risk score.
Underlying drivers
Untreated sleep apnea, high blood pressure, thyroid disease, and weight all raise recurrence risk. Addressing them is part of the treatment, not an afterthought.
The blanking period
Early irregular beats are expected.
For roughly the first three months after an ablation, the heart is still healing and irregular beats are common. Rhythm episodes during this window do not mean the ablation failed. We monitor you through it.
Before the procedure
Imaging, labs, and specific written instructions on holding your blood thinner. Our standing protocol is a three-day hold for most patients.
Higher-risk patients
If you have had a prior stroke or have a mechanical valve, you will be admitted and bridged rather than simply holding anticoagulation.
Day-before confirmation
Our team calls to confirm your hold instructions and arrival time so nothing is left to memory.
Follow-up
A post-procedure visit, rhythm monitoring, and then return visits roughly every six months.
Medically reviewed by David Boone, MD
Board certified in Cardiovascular Disease and in Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Fellowship-trained in clinical cardiac electrophysiology at UTHealth Houston. Last reviewed: August 2026.
Next step
Request a consultation.
New patients and physician referrals are always welcome. No referral is required, and same-week appointments are generally available at all three offices.