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SVT, Cardiac ablation and Sinus node modification
Hey a little about me I have SVT and if I'm not in SVT I have IST. My doctor says its like my heart is constantly running a marathon (maybe that's why I hate running). I constantly feel exhausted I have tried many many drugs and failed them all. Anyways I am scheduled for a cardiac ablation and sinus node modification. He has already gone over the risks high chance of ending up with a pacemaker. I will have to stay in the hospital over night to have my heart continuously monitored. I wanted to hear some other stories from people who have had this procedure, how long was the hospital stay? when did you go back to work? any complications?
Thank you so much for all the info my heart rate runs between 120-130 during the day. My doctor already told me I will have to stay overnight it is what he does for every ablation. And it his his specialty. I have tried medications for the past 2 years and it was horrible. Did they go threw your femoral ?
1 Comments
They went through the right side of my neck and both sides of my groin.
I had an SVT / Atrial Tachycardia ablation done in September - it wasn't as bad as I was thinking. I was just under sedation - didn't feel any pain and I was asleep 95% of the time. As my electro was pacing my heart during the ablation it was going so fast it did wake me up out of the sedation - nothing unpleasant. I had my ablation done with the heat radio frequency, and I was fully awake during that part because again it woke me up from the sedation. That part was uncomfortable just because I could feel the heat in my heart. If you've ever had heartburn it kinda felt like that but much stronger. Overall nothing painful. I was in the cath lab / OR for roughly 3 hours I believe. I did have to stay overnight because afterwards I was having chest pain but I was released the next morning. I couldn't go upstairs or drive for the first few days because of the insertion sites. I took a week off from work. 5 months later overall I'm doing okay, no more meds either. I'm still very tachycardic but it isn't SVT, and I do still have a lot of trouble going up the stairs without getting winded but my cardiologist said it's all due to my heart condition. I hope this helps! Good luck!
COMMUNITY LEADER
Oh and I never answered your actual questions btw!
I don't think you'll spend any more than 24 hours in the hospital pacemaker implanted or otherwise. You might not even need to stay overnight. It will all just depend on how cautious the doc wants to be.
Depending on what sort of job you do you can probably return back to work the next day. If you work in construction or some business that requires a great deal of lower body work or lifting you might wanna take a few extra days, maybe a week to let the access site heal a bit.
Same would apply if you got a pacemaker.. Next day.. Unless you work with intense manual labor. You'd just have to keep your left arm in a sling and be a 1 armed man for a bit.
Obviously in any case try to keep duties as light as possible as a matter of precaution. Worst case scenario with no pacemaker would be some bleeding or bruising in the groin. This can easily be fixed all on your own with some moderate pressure over the effected area. Bruising can be reversed with a little more aggressive and sustained pressure, such as what youd get from a tight gauze wrap+pad/ makeshift pressure dressing.
With the pacemaker the worst case scenario is you try left handed javelin throwing and tear the lead out. That would be a really crapoy day and theres most definitely no way to fix it without coming back to the hospital. So definately be more careful in a pacemaker scenario in terms of physical strain and keeping that left arm secured.
Seriously.. Make a sling for yourself.. You dont NEED one, but it may help you remember not to use the arm at work.
I don't think you'll spend any more than 24 hours in the hospital pacemaker implanted or otherwise. You might not even need to stay overnight. It will all just depend on how cautious the doc wants to be.
Depending on what sort of job you do you can probably return back to work the next day. If you work in construction or some business that requires a great deal of lower body work or lifting you might wanna take a few extra days, maybe a week to let the access site heal a bit.
Same would apply if you got a pacemaker.. Next day.. Unless you work with intense manual labor. You'd just have to keep your left arm in a sling and be a 1 armed man for a bit.
Obviously in any case try to keep duties as light as possible as a matter of precaution. Worst case scenario with no pacemaker would be some bleeding or bruising in the groin. This can easily be fixed all on your own with some moderate pressure over the effected area. Bruising can be reversed with a little more aggressive and sustained pressure, such as what youd get from a tight gauze wrap+pad/ makeshift pressure dressing.
With the pacemaker the worst case scenario is you try left handed javelin throwing and tear the lead out. That would be a really crapoy day and theres most definitely no way to fix it without coming back to the hospital. So definately be more careful in a pacemaker scenario in terms of physical strain and keeping that left arm secured.
Seriously.. Make a sling for yourself.. You dont NEED one, but it may help you remember not to use the arm at work.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Wait what exactly is your sinus node running at rest?
Ok, he'll ablate the pathway first.. Kill the SVT, that's a given.
Sinus Tachycardia however is usually pretty responsive to medicines. I've read up on some literature involving sinus modification, however I have never actually personally seen a case that didn't respond to medical management first. Of course there have also been cases in which other underlying causes were identified, resolving the rhythm with treatment.
In short your case is pretty unusual. Not every facility treats the same types of cases but I would be suprised if this was a procedure he does routinely.
Fortunately it's safe to say; your doctor no doubt knows exactly what hes doing and is certain this thing wont respond to meds if hes willing to accept any potential liability that may be associated with a PM implant.
The SVT ablation is extremely routine, so that will go by quick. The Sinus Modification, despite being kind of uncommon, is actually absurdly easy to perform according to the instruction manual. ^_^
He's just mapping for a focus as he would in a PVC ablation. Unlike a PVC however he knows exactly the region the arrhythmia is coming from right off the bat. He just has to isolate the specific foci.
In english what this all means is:
A computers going to give him abpretty picture of a heart sith a red dot inside.. Hes going to put a catheter.. Basically a wire, over top the red dot.. And hit a button.
After he does that hes going to give you some medicine to sed if the red dot comes back.. If he does hes going to repeat until it goes away.
Lastly; I did some research on the real risk of you having to get a pacemaker. It would actually appear that it's not as hugh as he made it sound. Back in the day they didnt have the computer that makes pretty pictures and red dots.. So the risk was pretty high during that time. Procedures performed with mapping have reduced this dramatically.
Sounds kind of like preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. I wouldn't be too nervous about it.
If you did require a pacemaker, there is a bit more risk to this procedure as opposed to ablation. However total SVT ablation comolications are only 4%, to include all non life threatening or minor incidents just as bruises forming or patients getting dizzy when they see the sheath pulled out. While it may be high for the EP lab, in the grand scheme of cardiology or even surgery in general it's pretty safe to implant. Honestly with technologic advancement the pockets can be smaller and heal faster, reducing risk. Smaller pocket of course also implies smaller devices, which hopefully wont cause you any discomfort beyond initial healing.. Probably wont take long to forget its even there at all..
Ok, he'll ablate the pathway first.. Kill the SVT, that's a given.
Sinus Tachycardia however is usually pretty responsive to medicines. I've read up on some literature involving sinus modification, however I have never actually personally seen a case that didn't respond to medical management first. Of course there have also been cases in which other underlying causes were identified, resolving the rhythm with treatment.
In short your case is pretty unusual. Not every facility treats the same types of cases but I would be suprised if this was a procedure he does routinely.
Fortunately it's safe to say; your doctor no doubt knows exactly what hes doing and is certain this thing wont respond to meds if hes willing to accept any potential liability that may be associated with a PM implant.
The SVT ablation is extremely routine, so that will go by quick. The Sinus Modification, despite being kind of uncommon, is actually absurdly easy to perform according to the instruction manual. ^_^
He's just mapping for a focus as he would in a PVC ablation. Unlike a PVC however he knows exactly the region the arrhythmia is coming from right off the bat. He just has to isolate the specific foci.
In english what this all means is:
A computers going to give him abpretty picture of a heart sith a red dot inside.. Hes going to put a catheter.. Basically a wire, over top the red dot.. And hit a button.
After he does that hes going to give you some medicine to sed if the red dot comes back.. If he does hes going to repeat until it goes away.
Lastly; I did some research on the real risk of you having to get a pacemaker. It would actually appear that it's not as hugh as he made it sound. Back in the day they didnt have the computer that makes pretty pictures and red dots.. So the risk was pretty high during that time. Procedures performed with mapping have reduced this dramatically.
Sounds kind of like preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. I wouldn't be too nervous about it.
If you did require a pacemaker, there is a bit more risk to this procedure as opposed to ablation. However total SVT ablation comolications are only 4%, to include all non life threatening or minor incidents just as bruises forming or patients getting dizzy when they see the sheath pulled out. While it may be high for the EP lab, in the grand scheme of cardiology or even surgery in general it's pretty safe to implant. Honestly with technologic advancement the pockets can be smaller and heal faster, reducing risk. Smaller pocket of course also implies smaller devices, which hopefully wont cause you any discomfort beyond initial healing.. Probably wont take long to forget its even there at all..
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