Hopes after procedure

[Godworthy]

Hi all, I've just gone thru a 4 hr procedure, ablation to eliminate a couple of rare arrhythmias. Have a complicated med history so won't be launching into longwinded details. Basically I have an implanted ICD for VT and had an episode of torsades de pointes before due to Long QT. my complex ablation to do away with Junctional ectopic tachycardia had ended up with ablation of another arrhythmia found during the procedure; a very Atypical AVNRT. in the past few years my symptoms were really bad, and sometimes I would end up getting shocked by my device cos these arrhythmias would trigger the VT and the device had to intervene to save. Now that the mentioned tachycardias have been done away I wonder how confident I should be, if there will be chances of recurrence?? This is my main concern. EP did say that there is still a 5% chance of recurrence, tho a lot has been abated and hopefully one chapter of my fear is gone. Any input is appreciated.

[ireneo]

I like your comment "any slight improvement is great improvement."  That's how I feel too. I've had 3 ablations but my heart is not as erratic and compromised as yours. My atrial tachy was hitting several times a day. Plus they found some atrial flutter the first time in which was a surprise. They thought they had my heart fixed but it came back. Second time they knew it wasn't fixed. The 3rd time it was better but still have small tachy bursts that last less than a minute. What an improvement and I'm grateful.

I also get what I jokingly call "wacky tachy." The rhythm can't make up its mind what to do: normal, fast, skips, fast, normal. All within a minute's time. It's very erratic, feels a bit uncomfortable but settles down. I've had this for years, even before my ablations but it seems to do no harm.

In your case it may be a matter of the heart healing from the ablation. As you know, it takes a few months to settle into whatever style it wants. I pray for continued improvement for you.

[Godworthy]

Many thanks for your input and kind support. Today I went to church and gave thanks to God for a successful op/ablation. It was a rather touching moment cos you're right, my heart has gone thru quite a rough ride. Yet we praise God that I am able to be here to report the past...
This in fact is my 4th ablation; the past 3 were for different tachycardias! There were other ops. Eg. 3 extraction of leads done in the past 8 yrs all rather unfortunate circumstances...one upgrade from pacemaker to ICD, one due to manufacturer lead recall and last one was horrendous, due to lead perforation of heart wall after 2yrs of implantation.
Update: this evening heart went a bit haywire but was not too nervous, as I have seen and felt worse. It was not rapid but was really irregular and I have had it recorded with a portable ECG device cos my ICD will not detect it if not going fast enough. This ECG noted will be shown to my EP when I next see him. It was not nice feeling.
With your kind opinion and views I too hope that this will be the last I see or experience of the AVNRT(atypical). I look forward to palpitations free and worry free days. Thank you once again.

[MichelleP_3811]

It sounds like your heart has been through a lot.  Obviously no one can say for certain that you won't have any more issues moving forward but I will say from my experience you will likely find improvement from having the avnrt corrected.  I had avnrt svt episodes my whole life but the last ten years they ramped up to the point the past couple to 5 years I would notice my heart daily.  I didn't have daily svt episodes but I felt all sorts of symptoms.  I had an ablation in September.  Initially it was a bit rough going but now 7 months out my heart is calmer than I ever remember and all the ectopic activity I had been feeling is fading away.  I still get ectopics but I don't feel them as intensely.  That said, I did not/do not have any issues with VT, just isolated pvcs and pacs.  But I do truly believe that fixing the avnrt will give your heart a break and a chance to rest and get strong again.  And hopefully with that issue resolved your tendency to fall into VT will have gotten resolved as well.  Time will tell but ablating the avnrt is a really good first step at giving your heart a chance to heal.  But do give it a good 6 months.  The heart is resilient but it does take some time to recover because it does still have to keep beating but hopefully before you know it you will be feeling much better and all these troubling heart issue will be a thing of the past for you.  Take care and keep us posted on how you are doing.

[Godworthy]

Many thanks for your response. Yes having gone thru 4 ablations 3 lead extractions and one perforation of heart wall, I couldn't agree with you better that any slight improvement is great improvement. Also being stoic is also a good quality to have under such circumstances. I shall look forward to daily improvement and hopefully a steady and regular cardiac rhythm soon. Praise God indeed for EPs/cardiologists. This is a wonderful site to come into esp. when we stand lonesome in trials and tribulations with our health issues.  Will update after a fortnight...after review with doctor. Warm regards...

[Jerry_NJ]

First, congratulation to you and your medical team for what I read to be a successful step forward.  Second, I can't offer any knowledge on the specific question, but again your doctor gives an optimistic outlook, I think the best thing for you to do is believe you are better/safer.  A positive mental state always help achieve a positive physical state....good luck.