Post ablation observations....

Nov.23, 2010
"If I didn't know it, I'd say these two EKG's came from different people."  Those were the words spoken yesterday by my cardiologist as he examined my pre and post ablation EKG's.  The WPW slur or delta wave was gone, and replaced by a nice, clean waveform.  He took the time to show me the differences, in the two, and he was right.  Even to me, they were clearly different.  "You now have a perfectly normal waveform.", he pronounced.  I was happy to hear that!

I dropped my pants (which is odd for going to a cardiologist) and showed him the huge purple brise that is continuing to move southward.  I expected concern, but he said this looked normal for someone who had a large hematoma.  Apparently, when they work on the left side of the heart, Heparin is administered to prevent clotting.  This was a factor in the formation of the hematoma. He said it would continue to drift south, and would be eventually be absorbed by my body; no worries there.

My blood pressure was low at the time of my visit yesterday; 100/62.  He ordered me to reduce my Metoprolol by 50% from 100mg to 50mg per day.  I was also advised to refrain from strenous activities for another week to allow the bruise to heal.

I also discovered that 17 burns performed during the ablation and not the 13 as I had originally stated.  So I have to go back in 6 months for a followup.  At that time, if I'm still having issues dealing with (of all things)) the fact I no longer have this, he is going to wire me up, put me on the treadmill, and as he said "open her up" to prove to me that I can go full smoke, and not worry about the former SVT paying me a visit.  This sounds good, but I expect that I'm going to be fine by then.