Terrified of having catheter ablation for SVT

[Chocolateyclaire76]

I’ve suffered from SVT for many years and although my episodes are very infrequent, they are horrible and completely debilitating when they appear, out of the blue.

I really don’t want to be on medication for them so have opted for an ablation but am now slightly terrified in case something goes wrong.

I’ve got a 6 and 3 year old and the thought of a terrible complication just fills me with dread, especially as I’ve chosen to have it done!

There’s only a less than 1% of serious complications but my brain is focusing on that!!

Has anyone else had one?

Well I had it and i’m still here! It was all v straightforward and apart from feeling lightheaded afterwards all is good!

Great news. I was thinking about you this morning!
I take it they managed to ablate?

I'm waiting for another attempt sometime in the next few weeks.

They did manage to ablate and other than feeling the funny SVT feeling it was all pretty much pain free! The worst bit was having to lie flat for so long after. I went in at 11am and was discharged by 4pm when my heart rate finally rose.

Thank you all for your words of encouragement and good luck YonWeeLassie with your next attempt!

I had an ablation 10 years ago after my SVT episodes increased ( no trigger, no commonality) . It was great , changed my life, no more trips in an ambulance to A& E after simpler reversion techniques failed, no more unnerving adenosine applications. I did understand that there was a minor chance of it not suceeding or a problem with the procedure itself but there really was not an option not to have it if I wanted a normal life.

I get the occasional flicker of a few ectopic beats seeming to start up ( you will know what I mean OP ) then - bliss, it has nowhere to go and all is normal. Reminds me of how fortunate I was to have it done.

Best wishes, OP.

Bit of a cross post there - ! I’m so pleased it all went well. You just have to be a bit careful about healing the site of the little entry wound for a couple of days and then onwards !

Thanks PlatypusPie and i’m being v careful - great excuse to put my feet up and do nothing!

How's it going Chocolate? How soon will you be able to tell if it's a complete success?

sashh do you know whether they usually stop the calcium channel blockers straight away after ablation? I have paroxysmal AF as well as SVT and the hope is that if they can ablate the SVT bit it will reduce the AF (sorry don't know all the correct terminology).

It’s hard to know YonWeeLassie as I used to get the SVT episodes so infrequently that until a year passes I wouldn’t want to say if it’s been a success. What I have noticed though is where I used to get flutters, it feels like it might happen again, but just stops.

All in all, it’s good although the procedure has just left me so tired!

I just wanted to say what a positive thread, I have just read through and I'm so glad it went well for you!

I have had palpitations for years alongside infrequent episodes of SVT. Ablation is something I am looking at now so thank you for posting op 😁😁

No problem wineandsunshine! It sounds like you’ve got exactly what I had. I’m glad we’ve all been of some help. It’s a scary old thing but good to know people who’ve come out the other side.

I have ablation surgery booked for first thing tomorrow morning (also suffer with infrequent but debilitating episodes of SVT) .. feeling very anxious! Any advice welcome

I’m having mine on Tuesday (after backing out 3 years ago) equally terrified as I have a 9 and a 5 year old.

However the fear of an episode is now completely controlling my life so I know I need to take this chance.

Thank you for sharing your positive experience, it’s really what I need right now ❤️❤️🤞🤞

Hi Claire

Just wondering how your ablation went?

Mine is scheduled for Tuesday and I’m terrified too 😳

My ablation unfortunately didn’t go to plan - they weren’t able to track the episode for long enough to carry out the procedure in full. The whole experience was more intense than I had expected but in hindsight I think I should have prepared myself better.

Thinking of you @ManchesterMama1 hooe it goes well on Tuesday.

@ManchesterMama1 I had an ablation 9 years ago now, and it was life changing! I now only get sinus tachycardia when I'm unwell. I was very nervous beforehand, but it wasn't too bad, and I was only off work for a week! The worst bit for me was the bruising to my groin afterwards, but even that was manageable. Good luck!

Ask for sedation. I had the investigations done without sedation and would absolutely not recommend it.

With sedation, it was genuinely a doddle. Like having 5 double G&Ts. Lovely and sleepy and relaxed.

Thanks so much! Yes apparently I’ll be sedated, don’t think I’d handle it without!! 🤦‍♀️

Oh Northern sunshine I’m so sorry to hear it wasn’t successful 😢 Can they try again when you’re ready? Xx

Thank you covid woes.

It was successful, they found it an ablated it!

Cant quite believe it just recovering now I’ve been advised to expect palpitations for up to 3 months until my heart is fully healed.

It wasn’t as bad as i expected although what a surreal experience! Modern medicine is incredible ❤️