scheduled for ablation

[ddavey]

hi everyone    amber is scheduled for ablation on july 17 at university of michigan hospital.   the doctor's office called, i was surprised because i thought we were waiting until after she has cardiac mri on june 25,  but i am assuming they got the results from the 12 lead holter and either saw that most arry's are coming from the right or she is still having so many that they decided to proceed anyway.  i do have a question about her new event monitor.   she is on her second event monitor, this one records on it's own.  has anyone had this type of monitor?     thanks again        dawn

[Momto3]

Hi Dawn,

WOW!  The ablation is on the calendar...that's great news!  I hope and pray that Amber will feel better once her arrythmia is under control.  Here's to great days ahead!

What type of monitor does she have?  Is it a loop recorder?  Do you have to call in with the recordings, or does it transmit them via satellite?

connie

[oatbucket]

how old is amber?  What are her symptoms?  Sorry for the questions but I'm new here and my 12 year old daughter was diagnosed with AVNRT.

[ireneo]

This is great news. Now comes the hard part - the long wait.

I know about the Holter monitor that records continuously for 24-48 hours. Then there's the event monitor which I've had several times but as you know, you have to push the button to make the recording. There are implantable recorders that record "events". And my Dad's ICD keeps track of ectopics, tachys and fibs without him pushing any buttons. I've never heard of an externally worn monitor that would record just arrhythmias. With all the movement we do I'd think it would catch a lot of that (artifacts) by mistake.

Do keep us posted about how things are going during the wait and, of course, the days after the ablation. Give her a hug from us all.

[ddavey]

this monitor records on its own, it is an event monitor.  the monitor she had last month she would have to the button to make a recording when she felt symptoms, but this one will record on its own and then i have to call the recordings in.  she was placed on this new monitor because the company was reading some of her last recordings as a-fibs, but the doctor felt that may not have been the case so he switched to a new monitor for another 30 days.  i am not sure though what brings on a recording, she will have recordings on her machine although she had no symptoms.  
to oatbucket     amber is 22, she is mentally impaired and was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy 2 1/2 yrs ago.  in amber's case, there may be a possibility that arrythmia's (premature ventricular and premature atrial) may have caused the cardiomyopathy, at this point we aren't sure.  but she has had 30,752 arrythmias in a 24hr holter last november, so at this point the least we are hoping for is to get the arrythmias under control so the medications for cardiomyopathy can do their job and get her ejection fraction up.  her symptoms have been lightheaded, dizzy, low bp's...
momto3   how was your recovery after your ablations, and did they have to install a pacemaker or icd for you?   how long was your hospital stay?   just wondering what to expect with this     thanks alot      dawn

[Momto3]

Hi Dawn,

My recoveries were uneventful.  I was a little tired and a little sore from bruising, but nothing unmanageable. Just make sure Amber gets some rest. I did notice my HR increased at least 10 points and my heart felt as if it were racing.  Other than it beating faster, it felt weird to have a synchronized heartbeat.  The fast HR reverted back to normal in a few weeks. Is Amber aware of the arrythmias?  I felt some of the palps and runs, but not all of them.  

I did not require a pacemake and thankfully the ablations were successful, so no ICD. I take an ACE, but that's it.  I was admitted very early on the day of the procedure and stayed until about noon the following day.  The first time, I went back to work in a couple days and it was too soon..DUMB!  I was really tired and sore....Didn't make that mistake the second time.

I'm so hoping that Amber's ablations are successful and that her DCM resolves!  I talked to my doctor last month and she said since my procedures in 2003, she has referred 2 other patients for the same procedure.  Please keep us posted!  We're rooting for all of you!

connie