The treatment that follows an electrophysiological examination depends on the type of arrhythmia you have, the severity of your symptoms, and the results of various tests, including electrophysiological findings. Your doctor will decide if your arrhythmia needs treatment and, if so, which treatment is best. Ma Jian, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Fu Wai Hospital, Beijing Medications Anti-arrhythmic drugs work by changing electrical signals within the heart. They can stop a fast or irregular heart rhythm that originates at an abnormal part of the heart. If medications are applied to treat arrhythmias, it is important to ensure that they work effectively. Therefore, after 2 or more days of taking the medication, you may need to undergo an electrophysiological follow-up examination with the aim of selecting the most effective medication for the arrhythmia you are suffering from. A pacemaker is a device that can be implanted in the body to pace the heart to treat slow arrhythmias. The pacemaker is often implanted under the skin under the collarbone, where it senses the body’s heart rhythm and reacts accordingly. If it senses that the heart is beating too slowly or has been paused for a long time, it sends a weak electrical signal to stimulate the heart to contract and pump blood. Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator is a device that can be implanted in the body to deliver electrical stimulation to the heart and is most commonly used to treat life-threatening tachyarrhythmias. Cardioverter-defibrillators are larger than artificial pacemakers and are usually buried under the skin in the abdomen or chest. The device continuously monitors the heart’s rhythm, and if it senses an abnormally fast rhythm, it releases one or more electrical shock signals to stimulate the heart and restore it to a normal rhythm. Catheter ablation Catheter ablation, as we described earlier, is a non-surgical treatment that destroys the abnormal bypass of the heart that triggers the arrhythmia. It is often used to treat tachyarrhythmias.