Chest pain and Painful Breathing since Cardiac ablation.

I'm a 28 year old female. Four years ago I was diagnosed with ventricular tachycardia/ pvc's. In January 2008 I underwent Cardiac Ablation to fix my problem. Needless to say I'm 10 times worse since surgery. First off I was kept awake the entire time during the ablation which equaled to 7hrs of torture. I use the word torture because thats what it felt like. No numbing no anesthesia. Zilch... My doctor told me " You must be highly sensitive, because you shouldn't feel anything."  But that isn't even my problem really. Besides the post traumatic stress I suffer from now... Ha Ha.   1 week post ablation I started having severe pain in my chest and painful breathing. Plus my arrhythmia is worse and more frequent. It was suprising to me because with all my heart issues I've never experienced chest pain. The doctor who did my procedure stated that I had pericarditis due to the trauma to my heart during ablation.  My doctor told me that it would be cleared up by some anti-inflammatorys.  I endured 5 rounds of meds, with no improvement. So now I've moved onto another doctor. I've had multiple bloodwork, echos, cat scans, chest xrays. No answers. My new doctor says I show no signs of pericarditis. and suggest a GI workup. I know it can't be GI , because this wasn't here until I had ablation.  Now its the end of April, I'm still on sick leave from work and I can't even live a normal life. Simple things like walking, exercising, and just breathing cause so much pain. The pain is dead center in my chest and the tightness sometimes feels like it's going up my neck. It also hurts worse if I exert myself or breath cold air. ( I know weird.)  Anyone with any answers/ suggestions or common occurances is greatly appreciated. Thank you

[amiey2217]

Hello...I am 27 years old and have had exactly the same experience. I had the ablation October 2nd for SVT, AVNRT, and VT. The procedure was very painful and I was also told that I must be super sensitive because I should not feel it, yet I totally did. I have been hospitalized and to the ER numerous times since the procedure. I also switched MDs and was told it may be GI which is crazy cause it started just after the procedure. I was finally diagnosed with pericarditis and I saw a pericarditis specialist in Worcester, MA. I was started on colchicine and indocin, which helped a bit. It took the edge off the pain. I have had a baby and knee surgeries and this is the most pain I ever been in because it is unrelenting. The specialist said it could take up to a year or two for this to completely go away. I am still in a significant amount of pain, but am relieved to finally have a diagnosis and a course of treatment. To say the least I feel your pain and know exactly what you are going through. You may as well have been talking about my experience in your post. Hang in there and hopefully you are feeling better by this point.

[ireneo]

To say an ablation should not be painful is a bunch of (bad word). I had plenty of meds during my ablations. At my first one they were a little light on the meds. So when they got to the zapping part, I felt a lot of deep pressure in my chest and out my back. It wasn't nice. But they noticed I looked uncomfortable and upped the meds. That's the last thing I remember. I would not go back to that doctor if I was you. Many cardios are much more sensitive than that one.

As for the pain, the pericarditis is under control is sounds like. Your lungs are clear (no clots?). You didn't mention whether you'd been checked for that but a clot would cause similar pain. Or perhaps your esophagus was stimulated or injured during the procedure and you're having esophageal spasms. I hear they can be quite painful. I'm just guessing here since I'm not a doctor but I do hope you get some answers soon. Popping pain pills the rest of your life doesn't sound like an answer to me. Keep looking for someone who will be patient enough to find the problem.