Cardiac Ablation

[CHELLETO6DOGS]

Hi there,
I was wondering if someone here could tell me what it was like to go through a cardiac ablation. I am to speak to a cardiac specialist on Tuesday about this. I am being treated for SVT's and I am on dig and metroprolol . this is only been since Feb. however in the past my HR has been very low. and since 1991 my BP has been usually 90/60 but since being on this medication has come down even more. 70's/42. On Thursday I was in my air conditioned bedroom on my bed sitting up petting my dog the last thing I remember doing was getting ready to stand up and go play with my 6 year old son. i talked to my husband a few minutes prior to getting ready to stand up (he was at work) and told him my HR is very low around 42 and I feel like I am going to pass out, that is how tired was I get extremely tired when my HR drops. any way after getting ready to stand up to leave then next thing I remember is looking up at the ceiling and feeling weird. then after composing myself i felt a lot better. went to see cardiologist and he said something about having a cardiac ablation to fix the SVT and I have to meet with the specialist on that and this is happening Tuesday.  
I have read what it entails but I was wondering for those who have gone through it can you tell me from your point what it was like, did it hurt do you feel better now,
Thank you
Michelle

[CHELLETO6DOGS]

Thank you guys, My 6 year old son a few year back had a cath and ep study but he can't really say as they put him in la la land and it would be hard for him to tell me.
I was just wondering. i have had a surgical stuff done to my spine so I know how it will feel to be in the Twilight of things... kind of weird. but pain is my concern as I can't take meds for it, they make me sick, but from the sounds of it the pain isn't bad.
I am glad things go well and of course it doesn't sound like they can tell you how long the whole procedure will take because they have to find the area and cause. I know I most likely have to have it done mainly due to extremely low BP
Thanks for your stories it helps knowing it isn't as bad as I thought.
michelle

[twinbee]

I had my ablation for a-fib and a-flutter back in Jan 08. I have been in NSR ever since. Like Cindy said, this procedure gave me my life back. I agree, the procedure itself was "a piece of cake" for me. My procedure took almost 8 hours. I was asleep 95% of the time. I was put in a "twilight" sleep. Whenever I did wake up, they just but me back to sleep. No pain throughout the procedure. For me, the worst part was my back pain from having to lay flat for soo long. After the procedure, I had to lay flat for another 6 hours. The nurses in the hospital did give me pain meds for my back pain, and it did go away in a day or two. I did have some chest discomfort whenever I took a deep breath in, and that too went away in a couple of days. Some people have pain and bruising at the cath sites in the groin area. I did not have any pain, just alittle sore, and hardly any bruising. I had to stay in the hospital a few days due to my coumadin levels. The day I was released from the hospital, I felt really good. I did feel tired for a couple of week after the procedure.
Good Luck with your appointment. Hope everything works out well for you. Wishing you well, and wishing you enough...

[cindy707]

I had my ablation a couple of years ago for atrial fib, SVT and a couple of other things.  I am sure many others will weigh in on this one.  The ablation itself is a no brainer and it will be up to you and your doc to decide how you will go about it w. the pain issue.  I chose the amnesia meds during the procedure so that i wouldn't remember a thing and didn;t however some members choose to stay alert and awake all thru it.  It to me was easier than a root canal as i always say....believe it or not the thing that takes the most time is the doc that will be sitting on a stool in the room watching and mapping out the electrical patterning of your heart to find out where the issues are and to zap them out.  Hopefully your doc will be using cryo or freezing to take care of it.  The procedure itself can be anywhere from 45 minutes to a couple of hours and over have of the patients chose to go home a few hours after the ablation.  I chose to spend the nite in the hospital just for the just in case situation that never happened.  As far as do i feel better now?  Literally 100%...i got my life back and now am paying it forward on this Medhelp site....the SVT is one of the things that is just a memory for me now (and not a pleasant one i hated it)....i think you will be surprised at how simple of a procedure it is...good luck