ablation

I think you're asking the wrong folk

by crustyg - 2020-04-05 04:40:17

Cluhrk, you're having to come to terms with a life-changing diagnosis.  I expect your medical team have already told you that vigorous exercise is discouraged in ARVC.  How successful your ablation might be depends on a number of factors (skill of EP doc, your particular disease state - if there's an area of the heart that they can find/demonstrate is causing a lot of the current arrhythmias and their ability to ablate==destroy that little bit, and how quickly your disease progresses).

Pardon me for being blunt: things are never going to go back to 'normal' for you. But, one of the key messages in this forum is to keep positive, enjoy each day as much as you can and try not to let your diagnosis define and control you.  There are lots of contributors here who are able to be here still because they have little marvels of electronics in their bodies.  And then they get on with living.  Your diagnosis is not common, but there may be some other members here with ARVC.

Your medical team are best placed to answer your questions - likely success, ability to exercise post ablation etc.

Ablation outcome

by Selwyn - 2020-04-05 09:08:59

Indivual experiences cannot be transferred as generalisations.

Generalisations cannot be transferred to individuals.

Even different centres have different outcomes.

Patients differ with regards to why they need the surgery, their ages etc. All have different outcomes.

As crustyg say, if you trust your doctors, ask them!

Otherwise, if you are interested in pooled results ( with the above warnings) see:

https://www.aerjournal.com/articles/ventricular-tachycardia-ablation-types-structural-heart

My experience of anxiety is that you can conjure up worse happenings in your own mind than actually happens in reality. It does not do to overthink the future, rather to take it a bit at a time. Big problems are helped by sorting out what is easily achievable in a step-wise fashion, and then moving onto the next goal.

Hope this helps.  I had to have more than one ablation for the same problem. A perfect outcome is never guaranteed. If you understand this ( the doctors will explain all of this before you sign the consent form for your ablation), you will be very happy if you get a perfect outcome. Sometimes, like taking a trip by air, you accept the risk for the benefit of the outcome.

after ablation....

by islandgirl - 2020-04-05 10:14:29

Everybody has different heart issues, so I assume the outcome is different for each individual.  I have been going to my EP for 21 years, after seeing 2 other EPs.  I have had over 15 ablations.  I was incapacitated with my heart rate going up in the 250s for any activity. I am feeling 100% better after the ablation.  Ask questions, have confidence you have an EP that is experienced and you get answers.  There are always risks.  My EP and I text and I and can call him anytime.  He knows if I call or text it's important.  Bring questions---I type my questoins in my 'notes' app on my iphone and when I go to the appt. I hand him my phone to go through the questions.  We sit next to eachother and review them.  I stop him if I don't understand something.  He was unable to trigger the ventricular arrhythmias, so they were not ablated.  It sounds like your ventricular arrhythmias are easily triggered.  Follow your dr's instructions during your recovery.  My restrictions include nothing to increase my heart rate for 12 weeks (he recently extended it from 8 weeks), including no lifting or straining and staying out of the heat/no sweating.  My EP tells me it takes 3 months for the heart to heal and I am and can expect various arrhythmias during this healing time.  I send a transmission from my ICD weekly, and he has been downloading it other times (I get a text message when it is downloaded).  It's frustrating right now because I'm still having arrhythmias, but they are less than 5 min. and he texts me and calls me to let me know it's to be expected during the healing process.  My heart continues to produce new electrical pathways, I have heart failure, non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, and diastolic dysfunction, and reasons are unknown why I have these problems.  Good luck!