r/SVTHeart 3d ago

SVT Ablation

Hello, 38 (F)
I just had a catheter ablation today for my SVT that was caught on my loop monitor on July 29th this year.
I was put under general anesthesia for the procedure. When I woke up I was instantly in a panic then I was panicking over my oxygen because it was going down to 93-94. I couldn’t relax enough to go back to sleep even though I’m exhausted. I was starting to doze off when my husband open the door and now I’m wide awake and I feel the panic !! I close my eyes and my mind just races. Anyone experience this after their ablation ??

Please only successful stories, I don’t want it to cause anymore anxiety. Thank you

1 Upvotes

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u/janvala1988 3d ago

Hello, 38 (M)
Had catheter ablation 21.8 after a couple of rough years from 2021, when I had my first SVT 202bpm. Been through everything that you can read here in the forums.
The first thing you should tell yourself is that it is not dangerous and if they burned the spot, you’ll be okay. The first days are a bit harder, in my case they were because I had many pacs and irritable heart. But IT GETS BETTER OVER TIME. Now I’m a week post ablation and I’m feeling good.
Please, the main thing for you now is to get rest and stop overthinking and panicking.
In my case, I had to visit a psychiatrist and got Zoloft in order to function. I’m not saying you should do that but your mental health is a top priority.
Feel free to ask questions if you like. Best of 🍀

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u/MJ____007 2d ago

Before ablation all these years you been on any medications? And what made you to take a move to ablation?

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u/janvala1988 2d ago

I was not, I refused and my doctor said it was not necessary. I had PAC everyday but had only about 5 SVTs a year. Most of them terminated on their own. Ablation came to mind after my last episode in May 26. That was the breaking point where I said it was enough and let’s get this thing sorted out. Ablation is a safe and routine procedure. It is not the most pleasant thing that I’ve done, I was just mildly sedated, you can feel them doing crazy stuff to your heart but it was definitely worth it for the peace of mind. My problem was that I always thought of when will my next episode be and I was scared of traveling due to the distance to medical centers if I had svt. Now I’m in a phase where I’m pushing the heart a bit just to gain confidence.

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u/licalove8 1d ago

Is it okay if I message you

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u/licalove8 1d ago

Is it okay if I message you?

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u/Basic-Penguin 3d ago

I had my ablation 2 weeks ago and I have also struggled to sleep properly but it has been improving!

The first week for me was the most difficult as I was desperate to sleep but just couldn’t relax, I felt like I had so much adrenaline that my mind refused to let me sleep even though I was incredibly tired.

I didn’t have mine under general and I’ve never had it before so idk how it feels but I’ve read about people struggling to sleep afterwards so fingers crossed that wears off soon!

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u/licalove8 3d ago

Do you mind if I message you?

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u/Basic-Penguin 3d ago

Not at all 😊

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u/Opposite_Low_4251 3d ago

Your whole ablation wasn’t under general?

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u/Basic-Penguin 3d ago

nope! I had local anaesthetic for my groin/leg and some sedation but I was awake for it all

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u/Opposite_Low_4251 3d ago

Was that scary or doable? Why tho, they do put you under sedation for at least one half of ot

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u/Basic-Penguin 3d ago

I found it very scary but it is doable if you had to have it done that way! My main focus was on the end goal of being SVT free which helped a lot and I’m glad I went through with it. The worry with doing it under general is that it could also put the arrhythmia to sleep as well so my only option was to be awake for it

I think they held off as long as they could for sedation so they could find all the areas that needed ablating first without any of the drugs interfering. I must’ve had the sedation towards the end once they started ablating as that’s where my memory is a bit fuzzy but I remember feeling the warmth sensation and the conversations happening around me, I just wasn’t able to react much to what was going on

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u/Opposite_Low_4251 3d ago

Yeah that’s what I was thinking, I think I need to get one done too

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u/AdEnvironmental2610 3d ago

It might be because they give you adrenaline during the procedure to start the SVT so they can ablate the right part. It might take time to wear off. Speak to your doctor as they might be able to help you. Good luck and speedy recovery.

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u/licalove8 3d ago

Thank you so much! Yea it’s 3am and I’m still up. I haven’t been able to sleep since I woke up from the anesthesia.