svt and ablation worries

[olleen]

I'm scheduled for an ablation soon and still have questions/concerns regarding the procedure. I'm 26 years old and have been told I have atrial tachycardia. I had an episode last over 8 hours in the er. Adenosine did not work, it actually temporally made my heart go faster, so metoprolol was given and finally my heart slowed down. However, I did manage to have a breakthrough the next day at the hospital that lasted a couple of minutes.

My questions are:

1. What if i'm in SVT the day of procedure? Can this help or hinder the test?

2. The two drugs that will be given to me during the procedure are valium and fentanyl. Is the fentanyl for sedation?

3. During the ep-study they will have to evoke my heart (tachycardia) is this uncomfortable or painful? I ask only because when i'm in svt i feel like crap. I get anxious and sweaty, I often feel faint and just a general feeling of impending doom. Will I feel this bad during the procedure?

4.What are the chances of me having a deadlier rhythm (ie: v-tach, a-fib) that they find during the study?

5.Adenosine did not convert me, is this a cause for concern?

I feel so scared and alone, if anyone has atrial tachycardia or can answer my questions I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for reading. C

[olleen]

thanks, cindy i appreciate all your responses:) i think i'm going to phone the office to see what they say.

[cindy707]

Each doc has their own way of doing things olleen and i would think about calling their office today to ask them exactly what meds they are planning on using during the procedure so you don't have to add more stress to yourself and second guess what they may or may not be using for sedation w. you.  Like i said it is something that most docs talk to their pts about and come to an agreement about.  That for me too was the hardest part of the procedure was the not knowing parts where i forgot to ask and realized that the doc was the navigator during the procedure....sounds kind of like you are going thru exactly what i did about 10 days before my procedure.....i remember distinctively trying to find a safe place in my mind to deal w. the thought of the procedure so that i felt i could put my life in someones elses hands and be safe....i hope and pray that you find your answers too olleen..........

[olleen]

thanks for replying!

i think the whole amnesia part scares me. i mean, i think it's pretty great you have no recollection of what when on during your procedure, however the whole "wizard of oz or something" scares the crap out of me. to be that outta of it makes me feel out of control or something.

so let me get this straight, the two drugs that they talked to me about (valium and fentanyl) are NOT the only drugs that will be administered? for sedation purposes? i realize they might have to give me drugs to induce tachycardia but i'm strickly talking about sedation. you know? or anyone know for that matter? because this was something we did  not discuss. i just assumed i would be in and out of sleep, perhaps.

thanks for reading.

C

[cindy707]

Hi olleen...depends on your doc and what they give you...i had choices so i chose the amnesia meds and it was great since i had some pretty crazy issues and for 3 days after i swore i was living in the wizard of oz or something...my re call for about a week was patchy but i didn't remember a single thing about the procedure until they took me to my room once it was administered.  They told me to let them know about the chest pain but that was never gonna happen since i was busy chasing ToTo i think LOL....they can't really give you anything to "relax" you since they need your heart to be as normal as possible during the procedure so that they can generate the arrythmias to be able to zap them out and if your heart is too relaxed they won't pop up.  Each doc has their own type of meds that they choose and i can't answer what it felt like because well you know.......i am pretty limited because of the course of action that i chose...i am sure there are alot of other people on the site who chose to go w. nothing....i was not that brave olleen....man o man you should have seen it when i had my kids...i think i broke the sound barrier yelling for them to give me anything...LOL...good luck olleen and please remember to re post i will look out for your post to see how it went and hopefully it will have gone great and then you can be there for others on this site who are considering the procedure...we;re hear for you olleen.......

[olleen]

thanks cindy for the positive encouragement! i'm a nervous person by nature and just thinking about the procedure is enough for me to have a panic attack. but i do understand the risks are low and success is high, so i guess i need to focus on those things and know that i'll be in good hands.

i have a question if anyone could answer... am i going to be sleeping during the entire procedure? i know the EP nurse told me i should be, but then she proceeded to tell me that if i experience any chest pain or what not to tell someone. so i'm a little perplexed about the whole "sedation" thing.

also what about the drugs they give you to make your heart race (adrenaline)? what does that feel like and is it worse than a svt attack?

Thanks again for reading:)

[cindy707]

Hi i read your post and will jump in....i had an ablation 3 years ago for atrial fib and SVT....among a couple of other things.  It was a no brainer procedure olleen and if i knew then what i know now i wouldn't have been so stubborn and waited almost doing myself in as the episodes got closer together and much much worse.  It was the best decision that i have ever made in my life other than having my two daughters believe me.  As far as debilitating tach i am unsure of what you would call debililtating but i think mine probably was since my heart rate kept soaring into the 300's before the ablation.  Do not be scared olleen.....i am hoping that they will either be using cryo or RF's during your procedure because that is the recommended way to go now.  I do know that burning causes scarring and alot of other issues.  In answer to probably your most worrisome question to you which would be having a deadlier rhythm causing alot of worry...like Brooke said they have to generate that rhythm in order to pinpoint the problem areas in order to zap them....to correct them.....i usually don't post this ever but i had a very extreme case during my procedure and they had to take life saving measures for me not one or two times but 5 times during the procedure but i also had a couple of other issues w. my heart that we knew there was a risk factor going into it...thank God i had such an experienced doc he had done at that point over 1500 procedures w. no losses so he just kept on going and i will never in this lifetime be able to thank him enough for not backing down and keep going because now 3 years later i am symtom free....i take a very low dose of antenolol as a safety net since i am such a baby about these things and he gave me my life back on a golden platter.  Brooke gives great advice out from the medical standpoint from her experiences as a  nurse and you should take that one to the bank.  They are prepared in that room for absoltely ANYTHING that may pop up and the doc told my family that it was the hardest case he ever had and he was the protege of the two docs that developed the procedure.  So olleen my point of view is this...don't back down if they say you are in the 70% or above success rate percentile.....i took a leap of faith and that is why i post every day almost on this site...to pay it forward to others....your case seems pretty straightforward from what you have posted and i know i the near future we will see a post from you that you will tell all of us how much your life has changed and will be there for others as well.  That procedure even with what i went thru was alot easier as i always say than a root canal (man i hate those things)....good luck during your procedure and if you trust your doc and the medical facility that you are going to you are way ahead of the game now....let us know how it works out for you and don't forget about us olleen......and believe it or not i am now off to the gym and then to go on a run.....life is wonderful!!!!!

[olleen]

Well thank you both for your responses! I appreciate you taking time to answer me. Does anyone else suffer from debilitating atrial tachycardia? I would appreciate hearing from anyone who suffers with this type of arrhythmia and has gone through the ablation process. I'm so nervous about this which in return makes my heart worse. Thanks again. C.

[Brooke_38]

1. What if i'm in SVT the day of procedure? Can this help or hinder the test?

* During the EP study the goal is to induce the arrhythmia that they are trying to ablate. So, if you are in SVT the day of the study, that is a good thing.

2. The two drugs that will be given to me during the procedure are valium and fentanyl. Is the fentanyl for sedation?

*Valium is the sedative and Fentanyl is the narcotic (pain reliever)

3. During the ep-study they will have to evoke my heart (tachycardia) is this uncomfortable or painful? I ask only because when i'm in svt i feel like crap. I get anxious and sweaty, I often feel faint and just a general feeling of impending doom. Will I feel this bad during the procedure?

* Yes, they will induce SVT which can be uncomfortable but well worth it if they can find it and ablate it.

4.What are the chances of me having a deadlier rhythm (ie: v-tach, a-fib) that they find during the study?

*The risk of you experiencing a more serious rhythm disturbance is quite small. You are in a controlled environment where they are equipped to deal with anything that should arise during the procedure.

5.Adenosine did not convert me, is this a cause for concern?

*Adenosine has never worked for me either. I ended up having to be electrically cardioverted in the ER. THe fact that it didn't work to convert you should not be cause for concern.

Try to relax...you are not alone, as there are so many of us here that have "been there and done that." I wish you the best of luck for your upcoming procedure. Keep us posted as we will want to know how you made out :)

[Jerry_NJ]

I can't help with your questions, I hope you will get some sound answers.

But, you are not alone, I am sure others are also reading your post and are "pulling" for you.

Ablation is a low risk procedure, so the odds are greatly in your favor, try not to worry about something bad that could happen, focus on what good can come.  I don't have your "numbers" but I believe you doctor has a high confidence the ablation will not harm you and will in fact help you.

I suffer from permanent atrial fibrillation, and while it is not something one would want to have, if treated it is not "deadly".   As the first word suggests, it is an arrhythmia of the atrium, not ventricle, so I doubt very much that an ablation in the ventricle (SVT) will cause any atrial problems...just my guess.

Good luck, and let us know you good results when you get there.