Hi all, I hope this email finds you well. I had my SVT ablation for AVNRT on 11th April 2016.The procedure was OK but I had a reaction to the adrenaline post surgery. They found one area which was successfully burnt for 12 seconds. I was off work for three weeks and have never felt so ill and was really weak, got better slowly and still had episodes after eating and bending over. Spoke to EP and will be seeing him today but he said I have had a reconnection and will have to get it done again. Hopefully second time around will fix it but not looking forward to going through this again......
Do you mean you had your SA node ablated? The SA node is the part of the heart in the atria that fires off the heart beat. In inappropriate sinus tachycardia it can over fire and they will sometimes ablate it and put in a pacemaker to do the heart beat initiation. The avnode is the part of the heart that distributes the signal to the right and left ventricles. AVNRT is the kind of tachycardia I had. It was caused by extra muscle fibers running into the avnode causing the signal to get caught in a loop circling around the avnode. My rates were well into the 200s. Well regardless, I think any sort of ablation can cause extra premature beats which are a totally separate issue then my avnrt was. As well I had an elevated heart rate for 3 months before it finally went back to normal. I would assume the same would be the case for sa node ablations but wanted to clarify so you weren't mistaken about the type of procedure I had.
thank you for your input. its encouraging to think they will quit or at least become less frequent. I also have breathlessness anytime I walk for more than 20 feet at a time. The pacemaker technician told me that will probably improve as my heart heals.
I also have cut out caffeine but not the other items. So that's what I'll try. I expect losing some weight would also improve my breathing as there would be less of me to fill with oxygen.
thanks again for the encouragement.
Yes, I had them for close to 2 years before they finally settled down but the worst of them was the first 3 months to a year after. Unfortunately I have not fully gotten rid of them but I don't notice them as much. The things that make them worse are caffeine, sugar and carbohydrates, eating meals that are too big, spicy meals and anything that upsets the stomach. Stress and anxiety and getting dehydrated. So try and drink lots of water and avoid some of the big triggers and hopefully that will help but an ablation irritates the heart so it may just need a little more time to calm down. The amount you are having isn't alarming to doctors. At one point 5 weeks out I was having 15,000 a day but even then the doctors weren't too concerned so they really don't view them as a health threat but they are very annoying to us who have them so just try to do your best to ignore them and give your heart some more rest and hopefully they will go away for good. I waited too long to do my ablation so I am very well stuck with the premature beats but that doesn't mean you will be. It just takes time though but the heart does heal. Take care.