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NEW! SVT AND ABLATION

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Posted 10/25/2008 11:39 PM (GMT 0)
hey everyone.

My name is Serah and I am 18, pretty new to the whole SVT experience! I have had SVT for the past year and a bit and I had 4 episodes that spanned over the year until recently, when they have become more frequent. at first, I described my episodes to my GP but she thought nothing of it since all of my ecg's were normal. However, I always felt something was wrong that she was not finding. The first 4 episodes all ended up going away on their own, as I had no idea that I should seek medical help. It was just this past September that it happened again and I went to a walk in clinic where upon they called the ambulance and got me into the hospital. They didnt seem too worried since my heart is otherwise healthy. They gave me ADENOSINE, (the drug that makes u feel like you're dying,) as im sure most of you have come to cringe at when you read, without sedation. It took them twice before it worked. I was sent home and was back, unfortunately, the next week again with SVT. This time, I asked the doc to try ANYTHING before he gave me adenosine again and he gave me beta blockers which did nothing, and one that was called something like Perapapan or Verapapan?? (not Verapamil) anyways, didnt work either. Finally, i agreed to be given sedation so they could administer the adenosine and i wouldn't remember. Best thing I ever agreed to! haha. I was of course scared I was going to die as I had never been sedated before, but it worked out for the best. They gave me Propofol that made me feel super drunk, and then I fell asleep. when I woke up I was cured...only for a week. And was back again. This time, Adenosine didn't work and I was cardioverted (shocked while under sedation so my heart could return to normal rythm). Then I was back 2 days later and was given one shot of adenosine under lighter sedation (Medazolam) and was back to normal rythm.

Thats my story so far! I'm now waiting to see an ablation specialist. I am really glad I have found a group of people just like me! SVT really sucks, and is putting my life on hold. I am planning to go to Ireland in May but might have to hold off due to when/if my ablation occurs. Not to mention no caffeine, alcohol, or chocolate. I mean, COME ON, I JUST turned 18 and I feel like a grama already! haha.

Btw, Queen, I'm glad everything worked out for the best in the end!

Cheers,

Serah

Posted 11/13/2008 5:47 PM (GMT 0)
Hello! Just real quick I wanted to mention that my husband just had an unsuccesful ablation procedure 3 weeks ago and is now worse. the electrocardiologist refused to acknowledge the possiblity when we went to him worried and asking why this could be and if it will last. I even asked him if it were possible that the heart, as a muscle was just ticked off or what not and she rolled his eyes and said it is absolutely impossible, and that it is psychological mad    Thank you so much sb for placing this post, and please please, send me an email, I want to know how everything worked out!!!

sb said...

Hi Tobel17. I remember my ep told me to expect more svts and pvcs after the ablation especially for upto 3 months because the heart becomes very irritated.He told me that it may even become worse for a short while.  I am due to have an ablation in a few months time and just wanted to know what the procedure was like. I  am afraid that the ep will not be able to trigger the svt. If you don't mind me asking how often were you getting svt attacks before the ablation? When you say that you are still getting palpitations do you mean pvcs/pacs? Do you suffer from them too?


Posted 11/16/2008 6:54 PM (GMT 0)
To the top for new member, Auntie Social  please.


Posted 11/17/2008 3:27 PM (GMT 0)
  Real quick if anyone else has noticed that they have worse SVTs after the procedure please reply and let me know how everything fared and how long it took for them to subside.  Thanks!!   :)  Jen

Posted 11/25/2008 2:01 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks to all of you who have posted over the last couple of years. Your stories and perspectives have helped me a lot. I've had SVT for half my life. My first episode was at age 24 and lasted almost an hour. The heart rate was not countable, according to the EVAC guys. But the attack stopped on its own while they were trying.

I was on beta blockers for a while after that, but then went off of the meds and learned to live with the SVT. Cutting down on caffeine as needed and using vagal maneuvers worked for me for many years. A couple of years ago I started having longer episodes and they were more symptomatic (dizziness and shortness of breath), so they put me on an external event monitor. One day I was having an episode, called it in to the monitor company, and they immediately dispatched an ambulance to haul me to the ER. En route, a dose of Adenocard (I think it's the same as Adenosine) did stop the SVT, but the whole experience started me on the road to tomorrow's catheter ablation. I do NOT want to have Adenocard EVER again. Those of you who have ever had that stuff know what I mean.

I am very nervous about the procedure. Like someone said earlier in this forum, they're messing with your HEART. Yikes. Freaks me out, but I am ready to get er done. Hope I have the kind of experience some of you described... get "drunk" and wake up when it's over! :) Well, I just hope I don't say anything I regret while under the influence. Wish me luck... I have to be at the hospital at seven a.m. I'll post and let you all know how it went. If there's anyone left out there...
Posted 4/5/2009 2:56 PM (GMT 0)
My 15 year old daughter had been having problems with svt for a little over a year and her symptoms were getting worse.  Her pediactric cardiologist referred her to an electrophysiologist after she wore the monitor for the second time and they caught the svt.  The Dr. was awesome and explained very clearly what was happening with my daughters heart--basically there was an extra pathway where the electrical impulse was looping.  He offered two choices: medication or ablation.  He told us that medication was not required as a first treatment, if we wanted to we could elect to do the surgery.  He said the medication has a lot of side effects and since she was so young it may not be the best option. While I was trepidatious, my daughter was very adamant that she wanted the surgery.  She, like some other people who have posted, wanted to get at her regular life (especially running) without any restrictions.  The doctor explained the procedure very well and after some research we agreed.

My daughter had to have catheters placed in both legs.  She was not put to sleep, but was given a sedative.  The doctors said they needed to be able to talk to her.  She said it was scary when they set the arrythmia off, but the nurse was awesome and right at her side.  They ended up finding the pathway they were expecting and ablated it.  They gave her more medicine to see if she would have another arrythmia and she did so they ablated this as well.  The doctor said they tried several more times to induce an arrythmia and were unsuccessful so they felt they had gotten everything.  Because of her age she was kept overnight for observation.  The only part of the procedure that bothered my daughter was when the catheters were removed.  She said it was painful, but she got over it quickly.  I kept her home from school for a few days and she was perfectly fine.   She did have a few times where she felt her heart was racing after the surgery, but the doctor said that was normal because of the medication they used during the surgery.

She goes back for her follow up on May 8th and hopefully all will be well.  I am so proud of how well she handled everything and the nurses and doctors were awesome.  Hopefully this will be the last of her problems with her heart and then mine will be able to rest easily as well. :-)

Posted 4/16/2009 3:08 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all... well i had my ablation yesterday at leeds... i am a 25 yr old female who has been suffering from svt since my 1st pregnancy when it kicked off at 36 week.. 3 doses of adenosine n some beta blockers kept me fine till my daughter was 3 months and then i was svt free.. until my next baby last year where it started at 6weks pregnant n has not stopped since.. i have so many triggers that set it off hormones, caffine, chocolate, fruit, sugar, salt, etc i live the life of a nun... however after been on beta blockers though out my whole preg and after (my son is now 6mth) my excellent cardiologist refered me too leeds for abalation.. so yesterday i went for my ablation therapy... i was petrified too be honest i tend too get white coat syndrom when i walk into a hospital ( i am a nurse i dont get i when igo too work only when im a patient haha). i was admitted at 8 am and was 2nd on the list at 10:30am.. i was booked in blood pressure taken etc n all was well. when my time came i was walked down too the cath labs.. at this point my heart was laready racing thou sheer fear.. i was placed on a xray board wit a cold pad placed underneath me. i was then attached too a ecg machine and blood pressure machine. i was then cleaned with iodine n placed a sheet over me.. at this point thou sheer nerves my pulse was 170 haha didnt take much too trigger.. they then gave me local anasthetic in my groin area at both the right and left side in prep for the cathertas going in.. that hurt like hell and the cathertas was extermely uncomfy being placed in.. felt a very odd feeling all the way up too my chest.. i was panicking too which prob didnt help and you have too stay really still (im hopeless at that on a normal day) so when they were in i was given some mezadlam n drifted into a peaceful sleep.. i asked for a very large dose and he agreed marvalous!!! so i slept thou the whole thing. woke up in recovery and went back too the ward.. i laid flat for 3hours as my heart was not playing ball and my pulse was 150!!! my wonderful doc came too see me who told me the ablation was a success he could not trigger my svt again however my tachycardia was because my body had become reliant on my beta blockers ( i had too stop them 3days before op n i felt awful withdraw symptoms) so he has plcaed me back on them too slowly wean me off them.. he was fanatastic and i trusted him a 100%.. already can feel the diff i cant feel my herat beating anymore im def not aware of it. i feel alive.. amhappy n iv a small amount of chest pain n breathlessness but been told this is normal.. please anyone wanting it done go 4 it!!!!! only downside is after 15months of no choc i tried some today after missing it so much n didint like it haha.. good luck every one x
Posted 5/21/2009 10:18 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, I've just got home from ablation for AVNRT and would like to offer encouragement to anyone considering the procedure. I was scared to death before going ahead, having lived with the condition for all of my 30 years and never having the courage to go ahead with it. After a really bad attack before christmas, I decided enough was enough and booked myself for the procedure. The story of my op is much the same as everyone else's - very very scary, painful at times and generally unpleasant. I'm quite an anxious person anyway and for me the mental side of it was worse than the physical side. I was given morphine and some sedatives which took the edge off things, but the very fact you are awake is rather disconcerting! My surgeon was wonderful and induced the AVNRT very quickly and successfully ablated it with only 3 minutes of xray time which she said is very low and way below average for the procedure. Strangely, before she induced the AVNRT, she managed to induce atrial fibrillation which felt very weird but she reassured me that this was purely catheter induced and it won't recur after the procedure.

So all in all, a success story and now i feel better than i ever have - my heart is beating more gently than it ever has done and although i'm getting a couple of skipped beats here and there, these are milder than before the procedure and not triggering my SVT.

I thought I'd post this to encourage other to go ahead with this life changing procedure. I remember before I went in reading horror story after horror story on these forums and found it hard to find any positive posts. So here's one!

All those going in, feel free to ask any questions and good luck to you! (not that you'll need it!)

Matt
Posted 5/23/2009 10:19 AM (GMT 0)
HI Everybody!
Im almost 18 years old and have been having SVT since I was 13 years old...at first the episodes were really short and lasted for only 5 minutes max and whenever i went to any doctor they said that it was anxiety and stress but i really couldn't believe it because whenever they occurred i wa never worried or anything...but they the past 1 year they started recurring very soon and lasted for long periods of time like 1-2 hours and they had to rush me to the hospital to give me adenosine ( that was deff scary)...and during these last episodes i really felt dizzy, weak and my hands turned cold and blue...but thankfully they got an ECG during the episode and my svt was diagnosed... now the doc is saying that you will have to go for surgery or take meds .. and i really dont wanna do that...im taking verapamil right now...so im researching over this surgery thing and im really scared...i wanna know if any teen has had this surgery because its different for teens and adults i guess...some of the posts have really comforted me.. i wanna ask what if u wake up during the surgery? .. i mean do they completely sedate you or are you half conscious?...and what is the thing about stoping , then shocking and then restarting the heart?..it really sonds scary..!
Posted 5/23/2009 3:45 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Angel, I understand exactly what you're talking about. I'm recovering at the moment from the procedure having spent the past 20 years plucking up the courage! I'm 30 and from what I know, it's exactly the same procedure as if you're 17 or 18. I've had adenosine and lived with the fear of attacks all my life and it's an incredible relief to have gone through the procedure at long last. I admit, It's very scary having it done but the thought of living with the condition for the rest of my life was worse to me so i decided to do it.

Yes, you're awake but they don't stop your heart. They send electric signals in to try and kick start your condition to properly diagnose it. Once they've brought your svt on, they return it to a normal rhythm and burn away the part of your heart that's causing the electric short circuit. I was sedated and had morphine because my leg veins were hurting a fair bit during the procedure so was pretty out of it by the end. It lasted about 2 hours from start to finish. The doc came and told me at the end that I'm cured and the chances of the condition returning are next to nothing so it was well well worth it, even it was a frightening experience. I left hospital the next day and now i'm up and about feeling great.

If I were you, I'd go for it but it's definitely something you have to get your head around doing first. The most important thing is to get a good electrophysiologist who has done lots of ablations in the past - I spent a while finding out about good places in the UK and eventually got my GP to refer me to the Royal Brompton in London. The care was superb, as was my doctor who is very respected worldwide in this field.

If you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to try and answer them as I know how helpful I found this site when I was trying to make my mind up!

Good luck

cool
Posted 5/25/2009 2:51 PM (GMT 0)
Thankyou so much for your reply matt!...one thing that do they perform any particular tests before the surgery to determine that from where the pulse is originating? Yes, I have also decided to go for the surgery because i just feel too anxious that when the next episode will occur and it is quite scary when it would start anytime and anywhere..

Thankyou,
Angel
Posted 5/25/2009 3:17 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, well done for deciding to go for surgery!
Before surgery they'll plug you into some leads and do an ECG to make sure everything is ok. But they won't be able to tell where the fast pulse is originating from until they are inside and have managed to trigger it off. There's all sorts of SVT, mine happened to be classed as AVNRT which means the abnormal conduction pathway originates in the AV node area of the heart. But they only found this out once they were in my heart looking around! What country are you in by the way?
Posted 5/28/2009 5:44 PM (GMT 0)
Ohk..thnkx for the information, now i know what i should experience when im going in for the surgery. I'm in Pakistan.

Thankx,
Angel
Posted 6/30/2009 10:51 PM (GMT 0)
ook folks how about some updates... I'm due to have an epstudy/ablation on monday... I'm quite terrified. I hope everything goes well.

I have psvt with hr of up to 250... I've had it all my life and am ready to be rid of this monster.
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