Ablation for SVT

[Melanie29]

Hello everyone, I am due an ablation in less than 2 weeks and I am very nervous.
Please can you tell me about your experience(s) with ablation and any symptoms afterwards?
I am concerned about possible complications and also how I might feel afterwards.
The consulatant I am seeing is very confident and thinks it will only take approx 30mins or so.
They assume I have AVNRT.
I look forward to hearing from anyone and everyone:)

[KathrynA]

I had cardiac ablation on Aug 16 this year and so far it has solved the A-fib reason for mine.  Afterwards though I had severe light headed feeling to the point thought would faint unless laid down.
My systolic blood pressure was out of control and I'd end up in a Urgent Care Clinic or the ER with it 192 to 197..the dystolic was good.  After all these labs and test, and 2 week holter monitor, decided it was all due to BP.  I'm better the past week, but still have weak spells at times and head feels light at times.
Again, I'm not going to blame the ablation on all of it, think it just happened to following the procedure

[crimsonfyre]

big pads are in case they have to shock you ... happened to me :)

[PurduePeg]

Had an ablation done last week for WPW and SVTs at Scott and White Hospital in Temple, Texas. It went really well. They were able to identify the rhythm right away and zap it. I went to sleep as soon as they gave me the meds and woke up as they were ripping the sticky pads off my skin. Have had some weird heart rhythms since the ablation, but I think they are just my heart adjusting. Wore a heart monitor for 48 hours to trace it, but haven't heard back from my docs yet on their consensus. Overall, having babies and getting my wisdom teeth out were 1000 times worse than the ablation. Glad I listened to my cardiologist and had it done rather than live with the SVTs. Good luck!

[ireneo]

I saw your question further down the page about why did I have so many ablations. When the docs got inside my heart they found a bit more than they expected in terms of electrical activity. I had pac's, pvc's, PSVT and some chaotic atrial flutter. They mapped and zapped and figured they had it under control. Several months later it came back. Eventually I had to go back in. The second time they worked on it for 6 hours but  they couldn't get it under control and it was taking too long. A couple years after that I went in for a 3rd try. Well, it's better than it was. I still get tachy times but they don't last very long, usually less than a minute, rarely up to 15 minutes. I still have PAC's and PVC' s all day long but I'm used to them. A couple winters ago I did have 5 months of bad premature beats - hard ones at 15-25 per minute for hours on end. That was exhausting. But now I'm back to "my" version of normal and feel fine.

[ireneo]

I've had 3 ablations and although each one was a little different, none of them were bad.
First you go in and change into one of those goofy hospital gowns, then get an IV started. They take you into the cath lab, put all the sticky dots on your chest and another larger pad on your back and side (not sure what they were). Unfortunately you have to be rather naked for this part (my least favorite part). They will keep you covered as much as possible but they have to apply all the goodies.
Then they put some soft restraints on your arms and legs so you won't decide to scratch your nose or cross your legs (I guess) during the procedure :-)  About that time they give some meds through the IV that will relax you, maybe even cause you to doze off. You may feel your arrhythmia kick in now and then but you'll be groggy and won't care.
Next thing you know, you're back in your room. You have to lie flat for about 6 hours so the tiny incisions seal up. You go home and that's it. I had some bruising and tenderness around the incisions and felt kind of tired for a couple of days. But it was pretty much back to normal except for no heaving lifting.
One thing that doesn't seem to be mentioned is that your heart may act up a little now and then after the procedure, for a few months even. That's just the irritation from the ablation. It does not necessarily mean your tachy has come back. Don't get discouraged.

[CollegeGirl143]

i had an ablation for avnrt also, and it went smoothly.. mine took around 3-4 hours i think, but im not sure since i was sedated before and after the procedure... the only thing bothersome i found from it was the few weeks of palps i had while i was healing.. other than that, best thing i ever did for myself..