Post Op Ablation

[danielle512]

I had my SVT ablation done on the 1st of September. I was my electro's first case for the day - he told my family I made his day by how well it went and that he thinks he got all of it. The 1st week after surgery was really bad for me, my anxiety was out of control, and I was having a hard time catching my breath, getting lightheaded, etc. 2 weeks have passed, and on that 2 week marking that morning I had 3 full blown SVT episodes. I see my cardiologist this Wednesday. I called him Friday and he said he wasn't worried, he said he saw me having episodes after the procedure as I stayed in the hospital (which I wasn't aware of them) and he wants to put me on another holter monitor. So I am now freaking out. Did the surgery really work?? Is this just one of those off days?? Anyone's help would be great.

[Megans1812]

Hi  Danielle

I had my SVT ablation Aug 1st and my cardiolgist deemed it successful now Im still lightheaded with PACS/PVCS and a fast heart rate.  Meanwhile im never in SVT but im very Tachy. That being said I am a very anxious person and yesterday i was sitting comfortably when all i suddenly started to sweat and being lghtheaded and pale with a fast heart rate and PACS/PVCS. i went to the ER and my heart was fine. No SVT just anxiety.

Are you still lightheaded? Do you notice any triggers in your new episodes? Describe your lightheadedness? What has been your fastest HR after ablation?

There is something called a 3 month blanking period where any episodes in between that may not have an impact on wether your surgery was successful or not. There could be a chance you expierenced artial flutter which is very common after any given heart procedure.

You can personally message me if you have any questions. I am definitely here for any questions or just to talk.

Megan

[2210485]

Unfortunately, ablations are difficult procedures.

They are safe, with very low complication rates. That is to say you'd have to make a pretty obvious mistake to do real harm to the patient on the table. What's more, they are curative when done properly, and completed.

However they also involve a lot of educated guesswork, mapping and pacing procedures. The procedure is also made difficult by a number of practical difficulties, for example the anesthesia given may effect ones ability to induce an arrhythmia or a small error in data or the slightest movement of the patient or physician might have an impact on the subsequent lesion. Furthermore every patient has slightly different anatomy, which often has to be mapped and accommodated on the fly if you will.

What I'm getting at here is, there's always a chance you might have to go back for a repeat ablation, and there's a multitude of reasons this may happen.

This is true for even the most experienced electrophysiologist. Its just a tough procedure to complete.

If the physicians aren't worried about it I would put my trust in them and see what the next steps are.