what type of surgery is needed

[cinamon05]

I have had my 6th svt episode that took me to the ER last week. It was over 210 for over 45 mins. I never drank, smoke
or do drugs, I even use decaf coffee.
My doc is very uninformed cause she never sent me to a cardio. After my last ER visit, the doc there told me that
I could have serious scarring tissue from each episode as well as damage to the muscles. I do take meds, but it does not work, There is no reason why it does what it does and It started in 1999 ( I am not 52)
some friends tells me I may need open heart, I dont know. I am going to see a cardio tomorrow 8/11/08 if his experience impresses me I will have him do this, if not I will go to the ER where I was last week ( 3 hours away)
this last episode had literally knock the wind out of me, I cannot seem to recoup, I am so tired and my breathing is a problem as well as the chest pain that never stopped. If anyone has any ideas please tell me what you thing
the highest my heart rate was is 248 and the lowest was 210........... Please tell me if I should have them do the open heart. I do have other health problems such as croanes and a rare blood disorder... Thanks to all out there for sharing and caring

[maggiemag]

I'm with Ireneo, I doubt open heart surgery is needed.  And it is doubtful your heart will be scarred and have permament damage as long as the SVT does not persist for days.  I, too, have had rates that high.  An ablation is the procedure that may help.  You need to see an electrophysiologist, which is a cardiologist that specializes in arrhythmias like yours.  Many times it can be actually cured with one ablation.

[ireneo]

I'm not sure open heart surgery will be needed. Many people, myself included, have various forms of SVT and had catheter ablations done to correct it.

During an ablation they run catheters up the femoral veins and into the heart, they trigger the arrhythmias and map them out, find the spots causing the trouble and ablate them (a little burn here and there to stop the electrical signals). They use some sedation but it's not even a full fledged surgery. I'm not sure what type of SVT you have. That will be up to the cardiologist to figure that out. I am surprised your doctor never referred you to a cardio but you're going now and that's great. I hope you get some answers tomorrow and also hope you'll let us know what you find out. We're here for you.