Catheter Abalation Hasn't Worked

[Myrtle]

I emailed you several months ago and I was told to see another
doctor which I did.Here's my question again in case a different doctor is reading this. Six months ago I had a catheter abalation after many years of tacacardia and arrhymia. I was on beta blocker (Inderal LA 80mg) for many years which wouldn't always control the heart. I would have attacks of palpatations and very rapid heart beats sometimes at 200 beats a minute but the attacks would only occur maybe 2-3 times a year but the palpatations were pretty regular. I also have MVP.So my doctor
decided I needed the abalation so 6 months ago he did it. Ever
since then I have had daily hard heart beats, palpatations, really tired ,shortness of breath, and I will get shakes which I never had before. So he put me back on beta blocker Atentol 25mg
which caused my heart rate to drop 30- 35 beats a minute so he cut it to half a dose and the heart still beat ony 38-40 beats so he stopped Atentol. After 5 months of this I took your advice and saw doctor in Houston they told me 90 beats a minute now for me would be life threating and assured me they would find my problem. They gave me a heart card to record which I did. On my return visit they told me I had beats between 100-145 ranging up and down and I told them I was still having shortness of breath, palpatations, hard heart beat. They told me that the type of
arrhythmia I was having now was common in some patients after an ablation and it should go away at about 6 months. That's all they said I left.It has been 6 months yesterday and the problems are still here, I feel like no one will help me find out what is going on. When I had the abalation the doctor told me he could fix my problems he never said I would have all these problems everyday!I would greatly appreciate any help you could give me as I truly don't know what to do. Sometimes the heart beats so hard I feel like I'm going to pass out. Thank you in advance for your time and help.

[CCF CARDIO MD JMF]

You should re-address all these concerns with your doctors in houston. YOu may require an additional ablation, but it would be difficult for me to determine this.  You should discuss this with your electrophysiologist.

[Laura]

I had an ablation done in October 1998.  My condition was WPW (Wolffe Parkinson White).  I was having daily episodes of rapid heart beats - sometimes up to 260 beats a minute.  This condition was something that I started experiencing around the time I was 13 years old.  It only became severe in the past two years.  I also found that the rapid heart beat increased during pregnancies and also usually a week prior to my period.  In August of 1998 I had such a bad attack that I was in the emergency room for 3 hours with the staff trying to regulate my heart beats.  It was then that I was referred to a physician at Mass General Hospital in Boston.  I was extremely lucky in that the area that needed to be ablated was very close to the pathway that you need in your heart.  I too experienced problems after the ablation that kept me returning to the doctor.  It has now been just over a year and I can definitely see an improvement.  I know that at 6 months after the ablation that I was still experiencing episodes that scared me and I was told the same thing that it would take time for my heart to heal itself from the ablation.  Now just over a year later things are definitely better, but I do still experience some symptons, but nothing compared to the way it was. Occasionaly I feel a blip that makes me lightheaded or something that feels like that rapid heart beating may start again, but it generally only lasts a few seconds to a minute.  I still find that prior to my periods that this is the time I experience more of these episodes.  The good thing is that while these small episodes still scare me they are nothing like what I lived with before.  I have spoken to other women who have had the tachycardia problem for many different reasons and many of them agree that it is definitley hormornally triggered.  Especially closer to menopause.  Maybe this is something you need to look into further.  Good luck!  Hopefully in time you will see some improvements.

[Myrtle]

Thanks for your help!

[CCF CARDIO MD JMF]

Best of luck!

[p]

Hello,

I a 19 year old male.  I started having rapid heart beats at the age of 12 or 13.  I usually got them after playing basketball or when I ran a mile or so.  Nevertheless, I had an episode last December which scared the hell out of me.  I didn't go to the hospital or anything.  I then started feeling palpitations, dizziness, and now I am seeing a Specialist.  He suggested that I go through with the EP Study.

Would you guys recommend that I go through it?
My heart only races when I play basketball, get into a fight, run, or when I have adrenalan rushes.

Please help me.  What do you people think?  My life is at stake here. Only God knows how scared I am.

[CCF CARDIO MD JMF]

Given your history and your physicians recommendation, i would go ahead with this procedure.

[how61fer]

A related discussion, ablation was started.