Ablation for SVT, so many qs!!!!

[sb786]

I have a question regarding ablation. I have svt, most probably avnrt according to my cardiologist and EP. I am considering the ablation becuase i want to be svt free and on no heart meds and try for a baby. At the moment i am trying to consider the positives and negatives.
My SVT attacks tend to happen once every 2 months if i'm not having alot of ectopics then they tend to be once ever 4-5 months. All my attacks have been a minimum of 15-20 mins. On one occassion i needed adenosine to bring my heart rate down.
My question: What is the success rate for RF ablation for AVNRT svt? I know svt ablations have a success rate of upto 98% but is that for avnrt svt?
Is there anyone who has had success from ablation.
Is there anyone who was told that the ablation couldn't be carried out because the svt trigger was too close to the av node?
My fear is that the EP won't be able to trigger the svt when doing the ablation as my svt attacks are not that frequent. Is there anyone who has had a successful ablation even though the svt is not that frequent?
Is it true that all AVNRT SVTs are triggered by either pacs or pvcs?
Thanks :)

[dg13865]

How are you doing? Have you had anymore episodes of SVT?

[bearing]

Had my ablation done on Thursday 8th, was actually pretty easy they gave me enough sedative just to relax me, so was quite alert throughout.  Must say the warmed blanket was fabulous.  The whole procedure took about 1hr 15mins from leaving the ward to getting of the table, there was only one really uncomfortable moment where they had dosed me with a drug to race my heart which felt like it was going to explode, but it soon passed.  The odd thing about it was the isolation, everybody had dissapeared to the other end of the room and all I could here was chatting and the beep of the heart monitor as they triggered another episode.

[Momto3]

Yep, the incision site was a little tender and quite colorful! I love the silly boxer idea!!  That is hilarious!  If I have to go back, I'll remember that! Thanks for the great tip :)

Ah yes, the versed was great! Prior to the first ablation, the nurse anesthetist and I joked that I was about to leave on "vacation."  The second time around, I had the same NA, and she and I laughed about taking another "trip."  

[ireneo]

Wish I'd had the versed before going into the room. Too many gadgets in there. And yes, it was cold! That's funny about the socks. It's the little things in life that get us through, huh? How about after? The incision sites can be tender so I wore silky boxers - black with silver/shiny spiders and webs on them. Very silly but it helped.

[Momto3]

I can't believe you said that about the socks!!  I did the same thing!!  Only, I had a pair with elephants and one with angels!  I've worn them for all 3 cardiology admits! I still have them b/c I consider them my lucky socks.  That really helped me too :)

I have very little recollection of the procedures. I was given versed just prior to entering the EP lab. I remember some sticky patches, defib pads and a warm blanket b/c it's so cold in the lab...Next thing I remembered was when they "closed" the entry site.  

Even though I was having thousands of pvcs/day, they had to force me into VT...I don't remember that, whew!

[ireneo]

I avoid going to the doctor unless it's urgent yet I've had 3 ablations. It was weird but not horrible. True - like any doctor visit you get the same old line "Take off  your clothes." Ick. But they're very good about keeping you covered as much as possible. They do put plenty of "sticky dots" and leads on you to monitor your HR. The meds gave me a foggy feeling. I felt like it was all a dream and I could just watch the monitors like watching TV. When it came to the ablation itself they gave more meds so I dozed off. What helped me (it's a silly little thing) was wearing goofy socks. I was allowed to keep my socks on so I bought some wild ones. Frogs with wiggly eyes. Made them laugh too. They'll watch you and do their best to keep you comfortable.

[CollegeGirl143]

They induced mine by giving me pac's, as well as other drugs to stimulate a higher heart rate.. they have many different ways of doing things, if it can be done, he'll do it...

Sb, i was a wreck, i was more scared than you could imagine.. i was laying on the table waiting for them to start and i was balling my eyes out..They stuck cold metal defib pads on me, restrained my arms, and i just started crying like a baby.. They had to give me an extreme amount of sedative to knock me out, but they did it :) The first dose they gave me, that usually knocks people out for the hole procedure, phased me for about 15 seconds, then i snapped out of it.. They gave me a second dose, i was out.. then when they induced the SVT, my body was so sensative to it, i woke myself up from a virtual coma and they had to give me a third dose..

you wont remember a thing.. You will go to sleep, and wake up, and it will all be over :) Honestly, the stress about it is the worst part.. That and having to lay completely flat and still for 4 hours.

[Manhattan]

i don't have any details for you but can tell you that my sister suffered from svt her whole life and finally had an ablation done after much ambivelance and anxiety over the procedure. now that she's had it done she says she can't believe how easy it was and is mad at herself for waiting so long to do it. she had been taking medication but it wasn't always effective and with running five businesses did not have the time to lose with long svt attacks. i guess it all comes down to quality of life.

[sb786]

What was the actual procedure like? I'm afraid that the sedatives will not be enough to keep me calm!

Also does anyone know if SVT is ALWAYS triggered by a pvc or pac? The reason i ask is because the EP says he will try to induce the svt with pvcs and pacs (no idea how)

[CollegeGirl143]

i had avnrt

Its 98% successful.. its the most succesful type of ablation i believe...

Yes, your episodes are very infrequent and a legitamet concern it might not be able to be produced in the EP lab.. HOWEVER, an ep test is a good test to have.. It gave me peace of mind to know that no matter how hard my doctor tried, he worst he could get my heart to do was a very rapid svt..

if you have good insurance, and you feel the ablation will help you, do it.