Wide qrs

[kuc]

I am a 33 year old female with a long history of svt since I was
14 years old.  I underwent a ep study in May of 1998, and one pathway was ablated, but one still remains.  They didn't ablate the 2nd one being afraid I might end up with a pacemaker, and recommended I go to a larger facility with better mapping procedures.  The doctor who performed the procedure said that the one he could not ablate was a tachycardia with a wide qrs due to svt with abberrancy, and it was coming from the top chambers of the heart. I am now going to have my 2nd procedure in Tulsa in January and the doctor that is going to perform this one said that there was a chance that this was actually vt instead of svt with lbbb.  Now I'm scared to death that I have vt, but having already gone through a ep study with a very good doctor, his residency was at the Cleveland Clinic by the way, I feel surely he knows what he was talking about.  It was a very long procedure, 8 hours.  Everytime I have had to visit the e.r. with this problem, adenosine always has stopped it.

What do you think?  I've been worried sick about this, and just want to know if the ep study would have showed vt when it was done.  I would appreciate any info you could give me.

Thank You!

[Cleveland Clinic]

kuc,

thanks for the post.

Sometimes its difficult to distiguish SVT from VT when the complex is wide.

The mapping procedure would be able to distiguish the two. From your demographics and the reponse to medications, SVT is more likely.  

hope this is a start.

good luck

[wizkid]

Hi. Since the doctor who will be performing the procedure does not have first hand knowledge of  your condition, it is understandable why he may say that there is a possibility that you have a VT that he may need to account for inpreparation for working on you.  Since the possibility is small, though, it probably means that the protocol he is using indicates that it is abberation, but that he is being conservative. That being the case tells me he is prudent, which is good, since he will soon be doing some important work for you.

However, you also have one doctor who does have first hand expperience with your situation, and who knows with high certainty that the problem is SVT with aberration.  This isnt always the case.

So I think you have every reason to feel assured.

Good luck.