Cardiac Ablation - side effects

[sj73]

Help!  My mom had cardiac ablation on Monday - was told it was a text book procedure - everything went well.  Her blood pressure has been good and her hart rate has been in the 70s no spikes in heart rate since procedure.  However, after 6 hours of resting in the hospital - she started to get burning pain in her chest and back.  Pain so severe she was given vicodin and three shots of morphine.  Today, is Wednesday - The pain is gone but she seems like she is on her death bed.  She was released from the hospital this morning but she has no appetite- can't get her to eat much - and she is beyond fatiqued.  I am extremely frustrated.  Any thoughts???


This discussion is related to PROBLEMS AFTER CARDIAC ABLATION.

[neil239]

I had ablation in feb. 2010. i was fine for about 3 mos. and 5 days after i visited my doctor i ended up in the hospital for a 2nd ablation. i am always tired and my hart is irregular every now and then. i am 45 and am very depressed. i am a used car manager and need togo to auctions and work long hours. i have not worked since my first ablation. i am scared and sad but realize other people have untreatable conditions and should be greatful i have chance tobe better. it is hard i feel bad for all of you guys and hope all is well for all of you....

[Sharon8]

I have just had my ablation done on 1/7/10 , my palputation went up to 292 highest even i was lying on the bed getting ready to sleep. The process run well and i was being discharged the day after the ablation . But things started to happen 2 weeks after the discharged , my right hand and right leg and also back head started to feel numbness , besides , my lower shoulder and backbone also felt pain . I have called up to the doctor and I was being told that this is not being caused by the ablation , is that true ???  Other then that , my F1 heart beat came back in rourtine , with a tremendous fast beat lasting for 20-30 second ( But it only happened once after the ablation ) , is that normal ??? or does that mean the ablation process is not successful ???

I was also being adviced to go through the whole SVT diagnostic process again , event tracker has to be applied again , is that neccessery ??
For those who has done a few time on the ablation , can you kindly give some advice .
Appreciated with thanks !!!!

[DragonFyr]

I think you should get a second opinion about what happened to you.

[Juggie01]

I had 2 ablations in my heart 3 weeks apart. 6 weeks ago. I was told that I had several electrical pathways needing correction as they could only become worse causing heart attack, stroke .........I was told lets fix it while it is not too bad and you are still fit and healthy.  However, I now have a permanent pacemaker as the second ablation caused complete heart block.  I am told that there is no reason for this as all precautions were taken and my AV node was not touched or damaged.  My heart was also torn by the temperary pace maker placed there when my heart stopped durng the second ablation.  This caused an emergency operation to mend my heart, therefore my Sternum was cut through in order to reach the heart and the wall of my heart needed patching.  I am now devastated.  I can only pray for a miracle to restore the electricity to my heart.  

[DragonFyr]

Awful! Horrible story, so sad you had to go through that. Was any of it malpractice on the Doctor's part?

[StephSteph324]

Im 20 years old and i had a very low heart rate as low as 29 beats per minute and 40 PVCS a minute! i also had shortness of breathe, lightheaded, passing out! i rushed to the ER and they Kept me there for 8 days finally went to a Electrophysiology and it saved my life!! i had an ablation a week ago and i was in there for 8 hours and there were some problems during the surgery. i stayed in ccu for two days and was released. I couldnt get out of bed for a week. i have a heart monitor and heart medicine too prevent the PVCS from coming back i still feel the symptoms i was having but they decrease so much i feel like a different person! i hope it stays this way!
My prayers are with you!

[janiee]

Hi I'm 16 and i suffer from SVT. I've had 2 ablations now, and I'm going for my third. side effects from my operation are being extremely tired. Waking up from the operation means all you wanna do is sleep. i know this may sound gross but when needing to get up from your bed and go to the bathroom, you can't even walk. browsing becomes appear 3 days after, n you're groin and arm, they seems to go away after 3-4 weeks. after each operation i felt fine for 3 months, then each time my heart would play up again. i do have a small scar the size of a pin whole on my left arm, but it's hardly noticeable. Other than this i wonder if the third time is lucky.

[DragonFyr]

I hope the third time is very lucky! Maybe you could also do alternate treatments, like seeing a nutritionist, acupuncturist, etc. Electrolytes like potassium and magnesium can help a lot also.

[chelsia1]

Had heart ablation about 6 weeks ago, on table for 12 hours. No real issues with heart rate,which is good, However, when got out of surgery my right hand, which had no IV was terribly swollen and first three fingers had little motion. As time has gone by, swelling down, but thumb and first 2 fingers ache and tingle all the time.  Very sensative to hot and cold and limited gripping. Also, found a 3" X 3" spot (square shaped) that looks red like a burn in my back just right of backbone and just below shoulder blade. Further, the top of my right foot tingles and aches like my hand. Hand MRI done on my hand and said was OK. This all developed right after surgery.

These seem so unrelated, but have to look at when they started, and was when I awoke from surgery. Doctor, does not share my concern, but it doesn't make sense. And .....  my hand HURTS !!!!!!!!!