Hi! Today I was at a new cardiologist, to see other opinions (abroad). A stress ECG was done, and echo. Both was good. Doctor said that I don't have a heart disease and SVT is not life threatening if everything else is OK. I didn't got any medications because he said that if I have episodes a few times a year it's not necessary to take pills. He said that there are two options for me. 1. not stress about it and just live with it, or 2. get the ablation if I fear to have an episode and limits my everyday life. Now I don't know what to do. It's nice to think about that I will not going to have any episodes ever, but I'm a bit afraid of the procedure. What are your opinions? Would you do it? If you've done it, are you satisfied with the result?
I too only get an occasional episode, I do take Bisoprolol but don't think I really need to however I think, rightly or wrongly, that it keeps my blood pressure steady. I wouldn't have an ablation - might make things worse.
I had an ablation April 2017 and it was the best decision i could make. I havent had an episode since and no medication. I get the odd flutter and skipped beat but nothing compared to what i had. I dont fear SVT anymore. I reccomend the ablation 100% from my experience
Did you had episodes frequently? And how long does it lasted and did it recovered by itself? Thank you for your answer, happy to hear that it worked for you!
I think it's a very personal choice based on how you feel about it, but for me if it were just a few times a year I'd probably do nothing. Or maybe a low dose of a beta blocker. But the odds are good as you get older it will get more frequent, not guaranteed but it seems to be a common progression. But for now I probably wouldn't do anything drastic if it's not that disruptive.
Ablation vs medication is a tough situation. I did medication for years and was having enough break through episodes that I figured I should get an ablation because it was only going to keep getting worse. Unfortunately for me the ablation was not successful, and it turned out that I have a difficult and uncommon form of SVT. I'm now on a high dose of beta blocker which does the job for now but I expect at some point in the next few years it won't. At that point they want me to go on flecainide and see how that goes. At this point they don't want to do another ablation attempt unless nothing else is working, because they feel that it's a low probability of success.
There are, luckily, lots of options. And if you only have infrequent episodes you have plenty of time to think it over. I will note for SVT ablations are very safe and successful these days, though they are quite expensive and unpleasant. And it's the only shot at a permanent cure. I think ablation is worth considering, possibly even as a first treatment choice, once symptoms become frequent and severe enough to impact your life (either physically or mentally).
My SVT episodes started in my 40s and have not got any worse - I am 72 now.
I didnt get frequent episodes but it impacted my life massively as i had a 1 year old to look after and it scared me a lot. Mine didnt revert on their own and i had to go to hospital to have adenosine. The cardiologist recommended the ablation as he could see how terrified i was and that it was controlling my life through all the fear of another episode
I am, too, very afraid of an episode (2 years ago I had a long one and had to go to ER to revert it and from then I'm afraid of SVT), I'm taking Xanax for my anxiety. Now I'm afraid that the ablation would not be successful and my episodes would get worse... BTW, I'm a 27 y/o mother of a 4 y/o girl.
literally the same as me. i think its the unknown you are affraid of. maybe look into having the ablation, the chances of it being a success is more than 95% The procedure wasnt half as bad as i thought and i was back to my usual self within a couple of days. SVT caused me my relationship because i couldnt handle the fear. so i decided to go ahead and now im looking for a relationship again. Look at the pros and cons, if its affecting your life now then id go for the ablation
My first ablation attempt, I could not be triggered. EP thought because I was taking a benzo. I had to do the grueling task of weaning off the benzo in order to have a second attempt at ablation.
If you decide on having ablation, and you are told to come off the xanax, please plan way ahead and do it very slowly.
It was the hardest thing I have ever gone through.......
Would you mind sharing what type of SVT you have ?
Yes, I'll definitely want to stop taking Xanax, as soon as possible. I don't say that I'm addicted, but if I don't take my regular dose I get really irritated, I get in that "you talk to me I'll punch you" state, and that's not good. All because of a bad SVT episode... I'll go soon to my doc to discuss the process of cutting down the dose slowly and stop it eventually. I don't take too much Xanax, 0.5mg twice a day.
I guess everyone is different. People react differently to medications, to SVT itself...some have it bad, some not so bad or it doesn't get worse. I am scheduled for an EP study with possible ablation next week. My EP doc thinks I've had episodes of SVT but I could have other issues like IST. He feels the best way to get an accurate diagnosis is through an EP study. If he finds something, he will ablate it. If after the study he thinks medication is they way to go, we'll do that. Like you, I haven't had many episodes but the ones I've had scared me enough to cause anxiety. They've never lasted long, and converted back by itself so I guess I'm lucky in that sense but like someone else said, if left untreated it will probably get worse so its best to try and tackle it now. One thing I have been getting more of is PVC's so I am kind of happy I am doing the EP study soon because these things drive me crazy! I tried Metoprolol for a while but didn't like how it dropped my HR so low, so I stopped. I'm taking a suppliment called Heart Calm now, which has seemed to quiet them down a lot. I am not to keen on taking medications that may produce negative side effects, so the EP study route seems a much better option for me in hopes of finding a more permanent cure.
Like someone else said it is a personal decision. From everything I've researched on EP study/ablation, its pretty low risk procedure (for invasive surgery) and seems to a more common approach to arrhymias these days. Talk it over with your doctor.
It's a focal atrial tachycardia which is rare-ish with like 10% of SVTs from what I can find. My EP says it's trickier because there's no clear spot to zap like with AVRT, it can be anywhere, it can move around and ablations can just irritate nearby cells causing them to take over the arrhythmia. Though the studies seem to suggest a high success rate with ablations. If they get bad again I'll probably seek a second opinion.
The first time my son had a sustaining event he was 11 years old and had to be taken from school to the ER to receive adenosine. The choices we were given were: take meds that may make him tired, wait around for the next event to occur and go to the ER as necessary, or get the ablation. We chose to get the ablation but unfortunately, it did not resolve his issue and a year later, almost to the day, he had another sustaining event. He then got a 2nd ablation. He has little flutters but thus far, he hasnt had another episode for 5 years. We chose the ablations because he was so young and we didnt want him to be afraid every time he went camping or on a trip, etc.. We didnt want him to have to think about how far an ER is every time he moves somewhere. Even though it had to be repeated, I think it was worth it, and he does too. The ablation was very straight forward, they went through his femoral, and the recovery was relatively quick and easy and left him with a tiny little scar that nobody would ever see.
Hi i am 19 and having the ablation in two weeks to help my SVT. Was the procedure too bad? Did you have pain afterwards? I wanted some advice to see what i can expect from doing this.
I've been on 100 mg Flecainide daily now for several months and have not had any SVT episodes at all since I started the medication. I'm really happy with the medication. If I get any episodes I can increase the dose. The cardiologist advises against ablation in my case because my SVT is being initiated in the right side of my heart, and that is more difficult to access than the left side, so there is more chance of something going wrong. I would try Flecainide first if it is an option for you. The Olympic rower Rob Waddell won gold while taking Flecainide, so it can't be that bad. But you have to make your own mind up. There are plenty of success stories with ablation and plenty of ablations that did not work or led to further complications. Good luck, whatever you decide.
No the procedure wasnt bad at all, the drugs they give you to relax make the time fly by and its over with before you know it! The worst part for me was having to lay flat afterwards, i just wanted to move! I dont recall any pain after i just felt very tired for a week or so. You may get flutters after but its nothing to worry about it should settle down. I wish you all the best for the procedure and i hope it is successful for you!!
Hi Dominika, I too am facing the decision about ablation. Nothing seems life threatening or even much of a hardship at this point. I got a referral and went to see the electro physiologist dr. and besides acting like he was God's gift to the world, he was ready to get me on the table and do the ablation asap. Not based on my specific test results, but because that's what he does. At least that was my takeaway from him. I was just coming in for advice and options, not to make the appointment right then. I went almost 3 months without any episodes, now I've only had very short episodes (3) and I've got myself out of them within a couple minutes. So still not sure what to do.
Hi Dominika, I too am facing the decision about ablation. Nothing seems life threatening or even much of a hardship at this point. I got a referral and went to see the electro physiologist dr. and besides acting like he was God's gift to the world, he was ready to get me on the table and do the ablation asap. Not based on my specific test results, but because that's what he does. At least that was my takeaway from him. I was just coming in for advice and options, not to make the appointment right then. I went almost 3 months without any episodes, now I've only had very short episodes (3) and I've got myself out of them within a couple minutes. So still not sure what to do.