I have just been diagnosed after 17 years of wondering with tachycardia fast heart rate. And just had a doctor tell me about going I through my groin and treating it with a small burn. If it's on the right side of the heart and same for if it's on the left but it's more difficult to get too. He also mentioned that there is a 1 in 200 chance that I could have a heart attack while having this procedure or I could not have it done and live with it for the rest of my life and he did say it wouldn't kill me or anything like that. So really am asking has anyone had this treatment and how did it go. Its terrified me with them odds of a heart attack I am only 33 years old. Any support on this would be much appreciated.
Written by
Heartsbdonna
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I had an ablation in February, please look at my posts to see how it went. Regarding the risks to having an ablation, there is little risk of anything going wrong, and if it does it almost always can be fixed. There is a risk in taking a car journey but we all decide that it's so low we risk it.
Whilst your tachycardia itself is unlikely to kill you, it is not good for your heart (or your mental being, or your quality of life), especially if it deteriorates or morphs into something else. I had tachycardia for over 24 years and wish I had the ablation in year one.
The procedure you describe is called a ‘cardiac ablation’. It’s a common and routine procedure which many people here have had. It is considered to be a very safe procedure, although there is some risk in even minimally invasive procedures. If you have an experienced electrophysiologist (EP) you will be in good hands. Your EP has to advise you of worst case scenarios (most likely overstated) but if you are unfortunate enough to have a heart attack during the procedure you couldn’t be in a better place and will receive immediate attention.
You’re unlucky to need attention at your age, but the heart bogey has no respect for age and good health. You don’t mention how symptomatic you are but your EP wouldn’t offer a cardiac ablation if it wasn’t to improve your Quality Of Life so I don’t think the symptoms are something you want to live with. In my case the tachycardia (which I thought was anxiety brought on by stress) lead to heart failure.
Bottom line: don’t worry. The main thing is to have someone treating you that you have confidence in.
I had ablation about 2 years ago after living with SVT for over 10 years. I understood that the risks were low but it worried me about the risk of a heart attack but I went ahead with it anyway. I cannot lie to you - it was the most terrifying experience I have ever gone through & it didn’t work because they couldn’t trigger the heart to miss-fire, so they did a blind ablation. I felt so deflated after going through all of that and then having to continue to live with the symptoms. So I had to go back on the tablets (Bisoprolol Fumerate) but they really had a bad effect on me so I asked my GP if i could just take one when I have an episode of SVT so he agreed but after doing this for about 18 months the SVT started to get more frequent again and lasting longer even after taking the tablet so I saw my cardiologist again this February and he told me I could have a 2nd ablation but I said I didn’t feel I could go through that again. So instead he has changed my tablets to Verapamil Hydrochloride - I take one everyday and I feel like I’ve got my life back - they are controlling my symptoms and I’m no longer in the fog of Bisoprolol!
You have to do what is best for you but whilst these tablets are doing their job I won’t be having another ablation however, if it gets worse in the future I may have to have it done again. I hope this helps in some way but remember every one is different & what doesn’t work for one person may work for another.
Thank you everyone, I have been reading up on the posts on this site and it looks like it works for some and doesn't for others. Now I have never had any tablets to deal with this I have been transferred straight to a professional. So now I'm wondering would some form of tablet help, i thought having this done would be a cure for good but it looks like it returns for a lot of people and they have to have another one.
One thing you may want to consider is that many of those for which an ablation is successful may not return to this forum as they are ‘cured’ and no longer need the help and support, so the success rate may be higher than it appears.
We all have to take a decision that we feel (more) comfortable with. In my case, I felt that I didn’t want to take drugs for life.
I've had three ablations and until I changed my diet still had problems. I'm now 6 months AF free and the reason is given below.
Have you tried changing your diet to a more plant based additive free one, with perhaps slightly smaller portions of meat and fish?
Countless ,members of this forum (including me) have discovered that this really helps. You would also need to avoid alcohol and caffeine. At all costs avoid absolutely any food, drink or sweets that contain artificial additives. Others on here have reported that cutting out all sugar has helped, if not cured their AF.
Taking magnesium citrate or taurate in the form of tablets, or adding magnesium flakes to your bath, or using a spray on magnesium also has a lot of positive reports (I use the flakes and oil).
I am convinced that my AF was caused by my consuming too many artificial sweeteners. I was adding them in pill form to my hot drinks, having diet lemonade, chewing sugar free gum and eating what I thought were healthy yogurts! Lets face it we were all led to believe that this was the healthy way to go at one time.
Oh and make sure you drink plenty of water too, because becoming dehydrated can trigger AF too.
Please, please give this a go as it may be all you need to do. A lot of us here follow this diet with great success, so please feel free to ask any questions.
I will look into this I am a tea drinker and also like my sweet things, so looking in to all the things you have listed will be something I will do. Thank you for your reply.
reading your post reminded me of the reservations I had from when SVT was first diagnosed for me and then over the intervening 5 years until ablation. Mine seems entirely successful and far, far less traumatic than my concerns led me to worry about.
Although me being Mr 'need-to-be-well-informed' I was reluctant to research too much on the WWW . . . . conflicting views/experiences can confuse not clarify at times - leads to unnecessary anxiety I think. There are some v.good websites for this subject.
IanMk's comment above; viz "One thing you may want to consider is that many of those for which an ablation is successful may not return to this forum as they are ‘cured’ and no longer need the help and support, so the success rate may be higher than it appears." echoes my approach to internet advice and is well put. Having said that, this forum was mostly welcome help for me.
I had a catheter ablation on 1st May and, as I suggested above, it was more straightforward than first worried about. I believe getting to the left side (if needed) is not as much a problem as you may think either. The stat' of 1 in 200 for heart attack is probably well over stated to cover their b'sides . . . . I heard no such warning before mine, not from my doctor nor cardiologist and not from the EP consultant. Here again I would echo IanMK's previous comment to you on this post in that in the very, very, very unlikely event of a heart attack being brought on by the ablation procedure, you are in capable hands with absolute immediate attention. They have to mention it to you even if unlikely. If you feel confident in the team that attend to you that will relax you towards the whole thing I am sure.
I would recommend the procedure for anyone with a similar SVT - I wish I had mine carried out earlier.
I now await closure of the moderately large atrial septal hole that most probably caused the nerves to 'fire off' my SVT episodes.
Hope all goes well; you make no mention of medication to help control it in the meantime.
I have still not made any decision and I have not been offered any medication for it just what the doctor told me on.my last visit after having years of ecgs and not capturing it properly. I have tried changing my diet cutting sugars out and eating more healthy this has had a good effect and my episodes have shortened so I am going to keep up with this for a little while longer and keep the decision in the back of my mind. Thankyou for getting back to me everyone
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Innapropirate Sinus Tachycardia
Tachycardia related to bowel movements
pregnancy with atrial tachycardia/svt
Ventricular tachycardia and ablation for PVCs
Young man with Palpitations and Tachycardia. Help 
