Catheter ablation is a technique employed to control heart rhythms that are caused by abnormal initiation or conduction of action potentials in the myocardium. During the procedure, a number of catheters are delivered percutaneously through the venous system and placed at key areas of the heart. The catheters have electrodes that are able to sense intracardiac electrical signals when connected to the electrophysiology lab system. The resulting electrograms are used to determine the optimal placement of the ablation catheter. The ablation catheter delivers energy to create a discrete lesion of myocardial scar tissue that eliminates the initiation or propagation of the arrhythmia.

Medtronic has ablation catheters that use radiofrequency energy to destroy tissue via resistive and conductive heating, as well as ablation catheters that use cryothermal energy to create lesions via the rapid removal of heat from cardiac cells.