​Atrial flutter is a type of tachycardia that starts in the upper chambers (atria) of the heart. It happens when the heart’s electrical circuit causes it to beat before it should (called a premature electrical beat). This abnormal heart beat spreads out through both atria and causes the heart to beat too fast.

Your cardiologist will target the circuit for ablation once the catheters are inside your heart. If you are in atrial flutter at the time of the ablation, it’s common for the flutter to stop. When this happens, it tells the cardiologist that they have ablated the right area of the heart.

Cardiac ablation works to treat atrial flutter in most cases (about 95%). If cardiac ablation doesn’t work the first time, your doctor may want you to have a second ablation procedure.