I just wanted to ask if anyone has had or is going through ECG’s due to heart arrhythmia and been diagnosed with a high VE burden ?… I’ve been referred to a Cardiologist who has recommended an ablation ?… I’m obviously and naturally very apprehensive and worried about this impending diagnosis and booked in to have the ablation in 2weeks !.. I’m not sleeping that great as lots going through my mind about the pro’s and con’s … if anyone could offer any advice /guidance I would be extremely grateful 🙏… thank you in advance
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Turkey_33
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You will get answers from people soon here.It might also be worth joining the Atrial Fibrillation Support forum and posting the same question.
If you look at the right hand side of this page now , or your post page on the other forum , you will see a list of related posts you can tap on those to get to old posts about ablations.
I'm the other way to you m I wish I could have a cardioversion or ablation but they aren't generally very successful for my type of arrhythmias and tachycardia.
From what I've heard an Ablation can make a really big difference to how you feel.
Many people have a reversal of their problems and can go medication free.
Some people need more than one , but most people seem to get a new lease of life after their ablation and are so relieved that they went ahead with it.
Often what you imagine is far , far worse than anything that happens when you need treatment so it's good to try and do relaxing things to distract you from thinking too much about it and keep positive.
Oh thank you 🙏 so much for this … I’m exercising and walking and staying busy so as to try and keep myself in a positive frame of mind .. this has helped so much .. I truly am so grateful ☺️. If you ever need to talk I’m here too . I’m a good listener and I hope you are ok too ..
It's great they are doing it so soon. Stay positive & listen to these people who are all survivors & Warriors. I'm new to all this too so that's what I'm doing.
That's scary l know but your going to be fine they do heart apps in the thousands so l think you have not fight it but sit back and put your self in there hands play some sleep music 🎶 it always helps me. Good luck. 👍
I’ve just had an ablation for an arrhythmia called SVT. It lasted about 3.5 hours and was done with local anaesthetic and light sedation so I was awake for the whole procedure. You will have a local anaesthetic at the groin where catheters are inserted. They went in on both sides for me. There’s no pain but you will feel pressure at the groin. I did feel the catheters briefly when inserted. They will then pace your heart using the catheters and medication to map the electrical activity in your heart to pinpoint the arrhythmia. They will then ablate the area required. At this point they gave me pain relief, sedation and an oxygen mask. I felt no pain just a warmth in my chest. Unfortunately they could still trigger my arrhythmia after ablation and discovered one area they couldn’t ablate because it was too near the AV nose so risked a permanent pacemaker. I was disappointed but they tried Flecainide and my arrhythmia responded well to it so I’m going to have a CT scan to check it’s safe for me to take. You are lucky to be offered an ablation so quickly, I waited a year. It is the only option to be completely cured of an arrhythmia. I’m an anxious person but I coped well. Everyone was kind and explained everything as they went along. You will have a nurse checking on you throughout. Afterwards you will need to lie flat for three hours to avoid bleeding at the groin and you should be able to go home the same day. You will need to rest and avoid heavy lifting for a week or two and I was advised not to drive for a week. Good luck!
Thank you 🙏 sooo much for this information and invaluable insight in a heart ablation as it’s all been pretty rushed as I have been on medication for the last 12 months . The latest ECG was not really showing the VE burden percentage drop to any significant improvement to make my cardiologist happy .. hence why I’m going in 2weeks !… I agree I’m very lucky to have been seen so swifty . Thank you once again .
My pleasure. I’m glad you are getting the treatment you need promptly. Try not to worry too much, it’s a very common procedure with low risks. You will be in expert hands. I think the anxiety leading up to the procedure was worst than the operation itself! Make sure you get lots of rest afterwards. I tried to get housework out of the way before - it also took my mind off things. Get some ready meals or meal prep so that’s one thing less to worry about. I hope it all goes well for you.
PS if you look on the BHF website they have a video explaining the procedure and another of the catheter lab and what everyone does which I found useful.
I will let you know how it all goes , that’s so kind of you to offer listening to my follow up . I hope I can then help you or anyone else having to face up to heart Ablation therapy on their own without much , or from my own GP ..( not their fault really as they are so over worked and haven’t got the time to give counselling ) .. good luck yourself with your treatment plans !
You were very kind to me and replied regarding my ablation which was carried out at The Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital. It took 3 hours as my cardiologist needed to ablate 3 points that were causing my eptopics and high VE burden . Afterwards I did feel amazing and have been taken off bisprolol and flexinide. I have now been prescribed Verapamil and aspirin. I have had good and some bad days with regarding to energy and tiredness . However I am extremely grateful if this has been successful. I have an ECG booked in for 2 weeks and then I will get my results as to whether it worked and if so what steps are next .
I’ve felt very fragile since which I’m sure is expected . I’ve put on a bit of weight as I haven’t mustered the courage to go back to exercise classes yet.
I just wanted to give you an update as you really helped talking to me ,
Hi Turkey33, lovely to hear from you. I’m glad your ablation went well. Harefield Hospital is actually very close to me. I hope you are recovering well. I know what you mean about feeling fragile afterwards. It took me a good month to start feeling my normal self. Listen to your body and take it easy. Your strength will return. I’m just over six weeks post ablation now. I had my CT scan which was all clear so can now start Flecainide. You kindly replied to my post about starting it earlier. I’m a bit scared as all the side effects sound terrifying and I’m worried that combined with the beta blocker I’m on (Bisoprolol) my heart rate might drop too low. Interestingly, although my ablation was considered unsuccessful, I’ve had a definite improvement in my symptoms and number of episodes. I will start Flecainide later in the week when my husband will be at home in case I feel unwell - I’m such a nervous Nelly! I hope your ECG and follow up appointment go well and you get good news going forward. Take care 😊 x
Thanks 🙏 so much for replying to my update !- yes I was on bis and flex before my ablation as a first option to try and reduce my eptopics and the burden percentage !( mine was at 16% too high !) the tabs did reduce it for a while but unfortunately it remained high hence why I opted for the ablation . Both drugs were hard at first to take , felt groggy and not quite ‘ with it’… however after a month I did start to feel better and so much calmer !( I suffer from anxiety ) so they helped with that enormously .
Now I’m only on verapamil and aspirin I do feel better , however my anxiety has returned to a degree .. so I started my classes back yesterday and felt amazing as it not only keeps me fit , it helps with my mental health and anxiety!-
So I would suggest to you , that’s wise to have your husband around at first when taking both of those drugs and monitor your side affects .
Good luck with it and I hope it improves your symptoms !
I’ll let you know in 2/3 weeks of my results after my ECG !
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