Hello all, I wanted to share my recent experience of having a Catheter Ablation. Hopefully this will help some people make their own decision about having one done and also help to put any anxious minds to rest for the ones who are waiting for the procedure to take place. As some of you may have read from my posts earlier this week you will know I went into Wythenshawe Hospital to have the procedure done on Wednesday, it was a RF (Heat) ablation to isolate the pulmonary veins. I am an otherwise healthy 36 year old guy who was diagnosed with PAF 18 months ago, it has become more frequent and troublesome in the last 6 months hence my decision to get the ablation done.
I must admit that I was apprehensive in the days running up to the procedure, even to the point I kept thinking I may be the one who won't come out of the hospital alive! I kept thinking was I doing the right thing? Is my Afib that bad that I need to do this? I almost talked myself out of it at the 11th hour. I did come to my senses though and decided I could not spend the rest of my life taking drugs and hoping that the AF doesn't rear its ugly head too often. I knew the ablation may not work and I may need it again at some point, but I knew it was my best shot of getting rid.
Many people on this forum had given me the reassurance that having an ablation was not a scary experience but until you lay down on that table you don't know how you are going to take it. But I have to say they were right, the experience was not scary in the slightest and if anything it was just a very interesting day!
I was booked in for the afternoon so did not have to be at the hospital until 11am. As soon as I got to the ward and spoke with the first nurse I started to relax, I had my blood pressure taken, answered a few questions on a form and had a cannula fitted (that hurts more than the actual ablation). At about 12.30 they came to take me through. I was greeted outside the lab by some of the team, one of the Doctors came over to have a chat and ask how I was feeling. By now all my nerves had gone and I felt totally at ease. Once I got to the Catheter Lab I was amazed by all the screens and equipment, and also the amount of people in there for me! Dr Brown my EP came over and asked how I was feeling, his confident and calm demeanour really helped to make me feel at ease. He gathered the 6 nurses, 2 radiographers and other Doctor around the bed and they all one by one introduced themselves to me and told me who they were and what they did, this was a really nice touch. The team had a brief from Dr Brown and then they got started, he explained to me that they would be doing some exploration and testing with the catheter before they would start ablating.
I was given some sedative at the start of the procedure, this made me feel a bit sleepy but didn't really seem to make much difference. They gave me a local anaesthetic in my groin area and inserted the catheter tubes, I didn't feel this at all. Throughout the procedure I didn't feel any pain, it was a little uncomfortable at some points, once when I could feel my heart pounding away when they triggered the arrhythmia and a few times when they were ablating a felt a stinging sensation but it was far from unbearable. I was given sedative by the nurse on a few more occasions but its didn't really touch the sides, I felt myself drift off for a few minutes once or twice.
Then next thing I was told they had finished, they kept the monitors in place for a while whilst they did some testing to make sure it had worked. After about half an hour I was then wheeled out and put in a recovery area just outside the lab, one of the nurses came over and said I had done really well and she couldn't believe I hadn't been knocked out with the amount of sedative I had, she said it was enough to knock out a donkey! They then applied a plastic pressurised clamp to the entry point in my groin to make sure it didn't bleed. Dr Brown then came over and said it had been a success and that they had identified and isolated the problem areas, and all being well the outlook was promising.
Following the produce I was wheeled back to the ward, I had to stay lay down for a few hours to minimise the chance of bleeding and to prevent any bruising. I didn't have any pain other than a bit of a dull chest ache. At about 4am I woke with some sharp chest pain, it was worse when lying down so I sat in my chair next to the bed. The nurse gave me some paracetamol and explained that the protective sack around the heart called the Pericardium would likely be irritated and causing the discomfort.
The next morning I was given an ECG and sent on my way at 9am, I still had chest discomfort into the afternoon and to the point where I was wondering about going back to the hospital. I started Googling and scared myself reading about Pericaditis and delayed onset Cardiac Tamponade! But then by about 6pm the pain had resided and I was able to lay down without the chest pain.
Today I feel great, I walked two minutes down the road to the post box to stretch my legs and then spent the rest of the day with my feet up. It's nice to have an excuse not to do anything and be looked after! I've not had any noticeable arrhythmia since the procedure but am fully expecting a few blimps as my heart recovers. My pulse rate was around 90bpm after the ablation, it then dropped to around 80bpm yesterday and 70bpm today, i'm normally around 55 to 60 and guess it will take a few weeks of recovery before it gets back to normal.
I can hand on heart say that having an ablation is no where near as scary as you may think. I know everyones experience will be different and personal to them but if you decide to have one done try not to worry and just go with the flow. Put your faith in the EP and their team, they have trained for years to do what they do and put their skills into practice day in and day out. But most of all try and focus on how your life will be changed for the better if the procedure is successful, and if it's not the first time then the next time you have one done it will be a walk in the park!
I'm eternally grateful for the treatment and care I have received at Wythenshawe hospital so far, and I cannot give enough praise to Dr Brown and his team, they are an absolute asset to the NHS.
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SteveA
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I am sure this will be of interest to many. I had my first ablation at Wythenshawe and was also very impressed by the quality of care and all the technology. I was a bit miffed to be moved subsequently to Blackpool, but had excellent treatment there too.
Hi Steve - I'm glad you survived! I saw your post earlier this week as I was recovering from my ablation for PAF on Monday this week and wondered how you got on. I went to Papworth at Cambridge and was looked after very well. The medical teams are amazing - they just take over and once you accept they are in control all is well! I had a general anaesthetic . I thought I was going in to have it under sedation like you but the consultant had decided a GA might be better - still not really sure why but I was very anxious about having the sedation so maybe that's why ( not as brave as you!). The consultant said I was ' text book case' and as soon as he touched the suspected area with the probe I went straight into AF so he is hopeful it has worked. I have had AF diagnosed since last Oct and have tried meds but still getting 4-5 episodes a week that can go on for hours and stops me doing things particularly exercise which I really miss. So hopefully now all is good so can start getting back to it all.
I note you say you feel great today - I think having a GA makes recovery time longer as I feel absolutely wiped out and lacking in energy. I have had the chest pain too - bit weird but ok. Mind you you are younger than me! I'm 48. I'm still on all the meds I was on before (Flecanaide, Bisoprolol and Riveroxaban) and I wonder that if I'm not in AF anymore then they might be 'over sedating' me. But apparently I need to stay on them for a few more weeks to be sure I guess.
The Consultant I had was Dr Grace - lovely man and he had already done one ablation prior to me on Monday. That's 2 people's lives he potentially had an impact on in one day. What an amazing job to have. I'm a nurse so this has reaffirmed to me how precious our health service is and how hard all the staff work,
Anyway I thought I'd let you and others know about my experience. Of course eveyone will worry about having it done but as you say 'go with the flow' and it will be ok,
Hi Cath, so glad to hear your procedure went well to. I have never had ga before but have heard it makes you feel drained for a few days. Like you said now you are in sinus rhythm the drugs could be making you feel a bit odd.
Best of look with your recovery and hope it all works out for you.
Hi Cath, glad to hear about you experience with Dr Grace. He did my ICD and will possibly do an ablation on me in the future if he thinks it will work for me. I have LVNC and have been seeing him for years. More so in the last 5 years since I started getting various arrhythmias. Hope you both continue well xxxx
Steve, I am so glad it went well for you. Your story is my story and you described it so well! I am 8 weeks post ablation and apart from one brief blip am doing really well. I was so apprehensive about having it done, but am so pleased, up to now anyway! I definitely feel a sense of well being that I didn't have before, and keep saying that my heart feels happy! Let us know how you go. Make sure you rest!!xx
Very pleased everything went well for you, just take it easy for a few weeks and give your body time to recuperate, doing too much, too soon is not recommended - a case of do as I say not do as I did and then needed a second!
I guess it might depend on whether you have a GA or conscious sedation. I will be off for 2 weeks but then I have also had a virus - without that I think a week may have been ok. I guess everyone reacts differently and it depends on how physical your job is as well. I would say at least a week and then see how you are getting on. Would be interesting to see how long others took off.....
Steve - thanks for sharing this captivating account of your ablation! Aside from the practical information, I was on the edge of my seat reading about your experiences and wondering what would happen next much appreciated
A great read and so glad you had a good experience. I am due to have my ablation in the next few weeks and I'm at the stage of talking myself out of it. I so quickly forget how awful I felt a week ago with an AF episode.
Question... Did you have a pre procedure appointment to check things out, also, did you have a TOE? Thanks.
Hi Linda, thanks for your message. They did some pre checks such as blood tests the week before, then on the day checked my blood pressure, INR and did an ECG. I didn't have a TOE, I'm not sure why but maybe it's because of my age and the fact my AF is intermittent.
Good luck with yours and I hope it goes well, keep us all informed!
Steve, thank you so much for sharing your experience and for making it so interesting - you should take up writing! It has really made me feel much better about my forthcoming ablation - although I am twice your age! I hope you continue to recover well, and as you say it is good to have an excuse to do nothing, so make the most of it! Tricia
Very glad that you went ahead and found that it was much as described on here by so many. Fingers crossed that you will be one of the great majority whose ablation is successful.
Peter
Steve, I'm sure very many people who are yet to undergo an ablation will find your account extremely helpful. Well done. I'm so pleased it went so well for you.
Great narrative about your ablation! It was reassuring to those of us who have not experienced it, that zapping internal areas of one's heart by an expert and caring medical team can be less fearful than our minds make it.
Very similar to my experience at Broadgreen (Dr Gupta) in 2012. Hope you have the same result as me Steve. Apart from a couple of incidences, sorted by Flecanide, I've been free since then.
Oh gosh that's good to hear. I'm due to have my third and this time in travelling down to Liverpool and dr Gupta is doing it (the guys up here have said they don't want to touch me again...!). Really hoping for third time lucky...
cali111. although I am 72 and having an ablation in 3 months time I appreciated reading your post as the waiting is very stressful even if it doesn't occupy you all the time and reading this has heartened me .
Great post. It's lovely to hear about things going so well. Thank you.
There's actually a short video showing someone called Ann having an ablation from the British Heart Foundation website via You tube. It's being performed at St George's London and she actually talks on camera while it's being done!
Hi Shirley, I’m getting mine done tomorrow and am so care at the moment. However reading other people’s real experience here did clam me down a lot. I can let you know how it goes for mine so you know what to expect
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