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Ventricular Tachycardia

Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: 4 minutes ago | Replies (17)

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@spittman4962

Yes I did have COVID before the event they did echocardiogram on my heart while in the hospital said my heart looked good and strong….yes when I got to ER on Sunday…on Monday the Dr that specializes in the electrical problems of the heart came in he was called in by my regular cardiologist…he immediately went to implanting the device..no discussion of other options or checking to see what caused my VT or anything just you need this device…I’m having a problem with and wish I had not had the device implanted…pace maker I understand I’ve had one of those since 2018 with no problems….

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Replies to "Yes I did have COVID before the event they did echocardiogram on my heart while in..."

I am sorry you went through this, but you are not alone. I too had sustained VT with syncope. The crash cart experience is… traumatic, it takes awhile to process the whole ER experience.
My echocardiogram was normal, and we did a cardio angio and found no blockages. The hospital cardiologist suggested a ICD, but the EP said as likely idiopathic VT is was amenable to ablation. I was released from the hospital on 800mg of amiodarone to protect me while I got more tests. I also had covid-19 about a month before the event, which was a first and doctors said possibly related… so did a cardiac MRI with contrast to check for swelling around my heart just in case and to rule that out - the MRI was normal. Then I agreed to a EP study and potential ablation. They were able to re-induce VT with epinephrine in the EP lab, and found a focal VT in the right ventricle outflow tract (RVOT). I later learned this type of focal vt in RVOT is really a common spot amongst people with idiopathic VT (no structural reason or damage causing it). They think the ablation was successful, i was weaned off amio, had a month long event monitor to determine if needed implanted loop and then get to go live my life normal with just a checkup in 6 months.
I have no idea what is “normal” but hopefully sharing what my tests and doctors thinking pattern and explanations were like helps you ask your own doctor more questions.
And by the way, I 100% got a second opinion (and ended up staying under care of 2nd opinion provider vs initial EP). If the doctors explainations are hard for you to understand, you feel pressured or rushed, I think these are strong tells that a second opinion could help you feel more confident in navigating your own way forward.