Catheter Ablation for SVT - any success stories as I'm so scared?

[ReggieEve]

Hi, I'm a 32 year old female, diagnosed with SVT in December 2011. I saw an Electrophysiologist in March and he advised that I have a Catheter Ablation due to possibly having AVRNT or a concealed accessory pathway...
I am absolutely dreading it to say the least. I understand that I may be sedated and I have never experienced that before. I don't want to be awake and know what they are doing as the whole thing freaks me out. I am als petrified that something will go wrong. Can anybody share anything that will make me feel a little better? I know I need to have it done as I am living with constant fear of the SVT. Many thanks :-)

[Karynecpa]

Hi ReggieEve,  
I just had my ablation done last Thursday.  I must say I got myself all worked up over nothing.  For me, the worst part was having my needle thing (where they put IV meds) removed upon discharge as they removed my arm hair with it!  I don't remember much about the procedure itself....the sedation they gave me put me out for almost all of it.  I only woke up when they triggered the SVT but it was only for a short time.  I did not feel the catheters going in, the ablation or even the numbing needles before the catheters.  When I did wake up, I had some horrible shakes, shivering but they put something in my IV and then I instantly felt better.  The other part that wasn't pleasant was laying flat on my back for 4 hours afterward but again, they gave me meds to tolerate the back pain.  So here I am, at home, 4 days later and am just a little sore in the groin and my arm where the needle was, walking slowly but mobile, I take the stairs slowly and I'm limited on what I can lift for a week but other than that, I feel fine.  Bored in fact, because I'm used to always being busy.   The other thing I want to mention is to make sure you have a doctor who is very experienced with this and don't be afraid to get a second opinion.  I did and ended up at Penn with one of top docs in the world.  You'll be fine, I'm a complete baby when it comes to pain and I found it to be nearly painless....except for the arm needle getting removed.  Next time I get anything done (which is this Friday, unfortunately...getting thyroid removed), I'm shaving my arm!  Good luck and let me know if you have any questions while this is all still fresh in my mind :)

[kcaravelli]

Hi ReggieEve,

I had an SVT ablation about 10 years ago to address my fast heart rate at that time. Ablation procedures have evolved quite a lot since then.  I am now in the final planning stages of an ablation for afib.  I am doing a lot of reading so that I  understand the risks and have some intelligent questions for my doctor. I do not believe in relegating my health to him. I go to him for his expertise...I ownd my health and so should you.
I my current reading it seems that the technology they now use to go in up your Femeral artery is much advanced from just a couple three years ago.

I would say the most important thing to do is be sure you are working the best medical team you can find in your area. Don't just bow to your doctor thinking he is a smart guy. There will be a team that does it. Miine was done by my doctor at that time and his team had done over 160 of them. Ask those kinds of questions. My nurses pointed me to the best heart people in the area.  I left my doctor who was good and went to the best.  In doing that I went from a 30% ejection fraction in my heart to abouot 50% which is pretty close to  normal.  I am telling you that so you can believe in the miracles of medicine and understand that they won't happen by accident.

[tom_h]

Just an additional comment:
The electrophysiology procedure is not without it's risks, but has become quite routine.  During the procedure, you have everyone you'd ever want in there with you in case there was an emergency.  Don't be afraid to question the electrophysiologist on his experience as well as his success record.  Also, leading edge equipment doesn't necessarily mean the best.  My electrophysiologist shuns steerable magnetic catheters in favor of his hand control, and deft touch.

[tom_h]

There are a lot of us here on the forum who have undergone successful cardiac ablation.  I had mine done in November 2010 for AVRT, more precisely Circus Movement Tachycardia, a high rate, self sustaining form of SVT.  I had this condition for 54 years or nearly all of my life.  Today I live a normal life free of SVT, and I'm loving it.  I was fully sedated for the entire procedure and remember nothing except scooting from the gurney onto the cath lab table.  I've been sedated menu times over the years for various operations and procedures, and the sedation they use now, often Propofol, is a very pleasant anesthesia, much better than anything I experienced before.  We're always monitoring the forum of you have any questions, and you can read my journals as well as those of Jannie411 for a very thorough and detailed explanation of her ablation procedure.

[LivingInHope]

Don't want to steer you wrong, but while I was at the hospital for my tilt table test, there was a lady next to me having an ablation and I believe she was awake for the procedure, though I think they gave her local anesthesia.  It didn't seem like it was a huge deal to her, though I think she had some soreness afterward.  It's been a lot of years since then, and my memory may be faulty.  You might try your post on the cardiac arrhythmia or heart arrhythmia forum- SVT is not considered a form of dysautonomia and there may be more people over there that can give you better information!

[sainty_71]

Hi ReggieEve. Sounds like you ahve a rather definitive diagnosis, so that's good.  It can elude doctors for months/years, postponing treatment options. I am grateful that I had an event 2 days ago that got recorded on my heart monitor.  I'm anxious to hear what the doctor thinks and actually hopeful that it is SVT since there is a solution to the problem if that's the case.  I was diagnosed with POTS last fall but I have never agreed with the diagnosis.  I just can't relate to a lot of the stuff I read about it, or at the least mine is to a much lesser degree.  The SVT fits better, but who knows. I had two events while driviing (tachycardia with near faints), and I obviously can't have that, so I need a solution.  

I'm sure your ablation will go well and you can enjoy good health again with your little one.  I also worry about my health a great deal, so I understand.  I just try to stop myself from thinking about all of the horrible "what ifs" and accept that I have no control over this and that some gift will likely come from it, as is usually the case with any challenge/adversity I've faced in the past. Easier said than done, but I'm trying!