EP Study & Ablation

Hi there - I am driving myself a bit crazy and am not sure where to turn :(....The people on this site have already given me a wealth of information and I appreciate all of it!!!! I am so glad I found it! I am a 42/female. As of yet, I do not have a pacemaker. Although, I do have a low rate 47 day and 33 at night and SVT. I have been trying to figure out my heart issues for the last 4 years and am frankly just tired of it all!!!! I went to a new heart dr. yesterday and he wants to do an EP study and possible ablation. I am terrified!!!!! He is the 3rd dr. to say I should have this done so I'm guessing it is inevitable. I am hoping that by posting here I will be able to hear some personal experiences that will help me to determine whether or not to have it done. My fear is that I will end up worse off after the procedure when I could have just lived with the svt events since I have been told that they are not "life-threatening". Unfortunately, I am getting the events every few weeks so it's not a great thing to live with. Any info. you can give me on EP studies and ablation would be awesome! Thanks!

7 Comments

more info

by Tracey_E - 2012-12-21 09:12:08

How high is the svt and does it keep you from your daily activities or is it just annoying? Have you tried meds? If it's affecting your life and meds aren't helping, ablation is the next step.

Are you dropping down that low on your own (wondering if it's side effects of the meds)

We have lots here who have had successful ablations, hopefully they will say hi! Sometimes people end up with a pm from an ablation, they end up too slow, so be aware that is a risk, though if you are getting into the 30's on your own, you'd probably feel better with it anyway.

Thank you so much for replying!!

by mostlysunny7 - 2012-12-21 11:12:17

Hi Tracey - Thank u so much for responding! I was starting to feel like I might not get any help here and I am dying for any piece of info. possible! My rate does not seem to go as high as a lot of peoples but it is still uncomfortable and since my resting rate is 47 maybe that is high for me. My rate only goes up to about 150 sometimes higher but not over 200 during an event but if it comes on during a tennis match I might as well walk off the court because I also come over as if I just came down with the flu (exhausted,muscle weakness totally lousy!) The tennis seems to trigger it but I do occasionally get them when I'm just moving around the house or when I'm doing nothing much at all. I did mention to the dr. that maybe I should just quit tennis and his response was that it's a quality of life thing...if it's something that can be fixed and u like tennis then why quit it? I tried meds (metoprolol) but they just made me more tired and that was my main complaint besides the svt that I was very tired all of the time. It also seemed to trigger more events because during exercise it would not let my rate get to where it wanted to be. Currently I am on no meds and get that low on my own. The dr. seemed to think that I was low because I was physically fit he said like Michael Jordan has a low rate. Well, I can tell you that I am fit, I exercise a couple times a week but I am also a middle-aged housewife and mom - I am no Michael Jordan!!!! I am pretty sure I am going to go thru with the ep study but I am really scared! I don't like the fact that u are aware of what is going on - I want to be totally out! and I am afraid because my dad died from a pulmonary embolism at 62 when he had just gone in for colitis surgery.I just don't want to open a can of worms when I could have just lived with this.

risks

by Tracey_E - 2012-12-22 09:12:59

High five for middle aged moms! How old are your kids? Mine are 14 and 16.

It's up to you how important tennis is but I'll point something out- exercising and staying fit makes you feel better and live longer. Personally, I'd do whatever it takes to be able to stay active and keep my heart strong. It's easier to stay active than become inactive and someday get back to it.

Metoprolol wiped me out too!! Was like being drunk. I switched to Atenolol and have been on it for 2 years now. I was tired the first couple of months but now I don't notice it. I have svt as well as av block (signal doesn't get from atria to ventricle, that's why I have my pm). When I was exercising, my atrial rate would shoot up to 180-190, but the pm couldn't pace my ventricles that high so I'd get out of sync. For me, atenolol fixed the problem, now my rate only gets up to 150 or so when I exercise so the pm can do its job.

I've never had an ablation so I'm no expert there, but I think the biggest risk is ending up with a pm. If your rate is getting into the 40's, it sounds like you might need it anyway. With a skilled ep, ablations can fix a lot of problems. It sounds like you haven't exhausted the med options yet if you've only tried one, but a side effect of beta blockers is a slower hr so you talk to your dr about that before trying another one.

Good luck making a decision!!! It's hard when you can't do what you want to do and the answer isn't clear or easy. I keep shopping for that crystal ball but haven't found one yet. A magic wand would be nice, too, haven't found one of those either.

My husband had an ablation

by MsJanet - 2012-12-22 10:12:39

I don't want to tell you to have surgery if you don't feel you really need it, but I do want you to know that my husband had ablation surgery and he did really well. The recovery was easy, and the surgery itself was a huge success. My husband got to watch some of it on the monitor before he started twitching due to staying still so long so they knocked him out. LOL. The only thing he mentioned was that the doctor told him that he would feel the "heat" as it was being performed. He said he felt the warmth, but it wasn't a problem for him.
I know he would tell you that he'd have it again. He hasn't had any problems at all since having this surgery 5 years ago.
Hope this helps ease your mind a little if you do have the surgery. Good Luck.

Your responses have helped a lot!

by mostlysunny7 - 2012-12-22 11:12:15

Tracey, I LOVE your last paragraph!!! It made me smile and sums up EXACTLY how I feel! I did discuss the meds with the new dr. and he said that he felt that none of them were going to be able to help me the way I wanted them to and he felt that an ablation would keep me from having to take meds if they could fix the problem. I also have 2 kids, 16 and 18. One just went to college this year - sniff, sniff! and one just started driving so things are starting to get a bit quieter around here! I really appreciate your responses they helped a lot! Ms. Janet you helped a lot too. Just hearing that your husband would do it again puts me at ease. I am afraid of being awake or aware of whats going on during the procedure and my dr. did mention that they may need to wake me up a bit to ask me questions about what I am feeling - I think that part is really making me uneasy aside from the risks etc. I would much rather be completely out!!! UGH!

Awake

by Tracey_E - 2012-12-23 08:12:00

They can make you so mellow you are awake but don't care! I was awake for my last surgery but don't remember a thing. Just tell them you're nervous, you are not the first.

I was awake and didn't care!

by Joanna - 2012-12-24 09:12:37

I just had my first pm implanted one week ago. Was awake during most of the procedure, although the Versed had me quite relaxed! The Dr., all those assisting her, and myself even talked about last-minute Christmas shopping lol! So, as others have stated, you will not feel any pain.

You know you're wired when...

You run like the bionic man.

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