wpw

6 years ago I had a couple of episodes of extremely fast heartbeat and then bradycardia, which was diagnosed as WPW by an arrythmia specialist.  It was treated with Radio-Frequency Ablation, but I do continue to have an crazy, erratic heartbeat.  I have not brought this to the attention of a cardiologist lately, and have accepted it as normal for me.  I'm 50 now, and am wondering if the ablation worked.  The dr. who did it was the one who pioneered the procedure, and he wasn't sure at the time that he found the right nerve.  I don't want to be a pain to a cardiologist, but have you heard of a radio frequency ablation not working?

[rilesnic]

I don't know anything about ablation, but I do think you should let your cardio know about your heartbeat. You can always give the cardio's office a call and speak with the nurse. My cardio usually wants a holter or testing before he sees me if I'm having trouble and the nurses set that up the day I call. You are not being a pain when it comes to your health...remember, we pay them...so...really they work for us :) Please keep us posted on how you're doing. Best to you!

[Bromley]

It could be that the ablation worked on the wpw, but unmasked some other problems. Or,  these new symptoms may be indicative of a completely different issue than you had before, or of a problem that was induced during the ablation.

Any underlying rhythm problem that is a real problem to you may be treatable with drugs, lifestyle modifications, or another medical procedure. However, you wont know the potential benefits or drawbacks of any treatment options until you find out what you are dealing with.

A crazy erratic heart beat could be indicative of non-cardiac related problems, or even heart disease. I agree with rilesnic that you should talk to your doctor.

[cindy707]

Hi i had an ablation that involved both RF and freezing because i had alot going on.  I am just a little older then you , had mine done 4 years ago and for the most part am good to go altho i have had a few incidents since the ablation that i had to deal with.  I think honestly Margie its not the ablation its the ablator and how well they do their job and that they don't back away and keep powering thru the procedure if possible.  I actually agree w. both rilesnic an bromley on their posts.....i think they gave you great advice.  I don't think its abnormal to have random runs after the procedure..i do the comparison of the before and after thing and know i chose well in having the ablation.  I think that there is a possiblity that something else could have popped up on you, or you are stressed, or you are burning the candle at both ends, or too much caffeine or a hundred other things but i think that the only way you will really know is to head back to your doc if you trust them, like them, and if you feel your quality of life improved after the ablation was done initially. You just may need a quick tune up or be put on a low dose of beta blocker to keep this at bay...we could all guess till the cows come home as they say but at the end of the day it will be your doc that will decide which treatment plan will work best for your situation....but i completely understand that feeling of having a New Years Eve party in your chest without your permission and everyone is dancing erratically...its scary and its horrible but you can do something about it...make the call my friend....