Q: My 38 years old brother was having high blood pressure and consulted the doctor. The doctor said that he has high pulse rate and needs to do angio radio frequency ablation. Will this cure his problem?

A:Unfortunately adequate technical information has not been provided for us to give any definitive answer. However, in generic terms, if the pulse rate is high due to aberrant conduction of electrical current, then radio frequency ablation may help by burning and blocking those extra pathways. Normally the conduction system of the heart is a very well regulated system in which the SA node generates the current, which then passes through the upper chambers of the heart to the lower chambers of the heart via a node called Atrio-Ventricular node. AV node does the job of a policeman and regulates the flow of current to the lower chambers and filters out extraneous and unwanted electrical current. It releases a set number of pulses to the lower chambers of the heart, which then beat in a synchronized and coordinated, regular fashion. In certain individuals, there are extra electrical pathways, which bypass the AV node and the electrical current from the upper chambers of the heart, take a short circuit through these pathways in to the lower chambers of the heart. These patients can be helped by mapping these extra pathways and then burning them using radio frequency waves. This technique is quite successful with a success rates upwards of 95%. However, if the electrical pathway cannot be mapped, then this technique becomes difficult. Also if the irregular pulse or high pulse is coming from irregular rhythms of the upper chamber of the heart, then the results are not quite as good. I think, this is about all that we can give you by way of general knowledge. I suggest, you should contact your cardiologist for more specific answers.