@cmendes2026 Just wanted to clarify, so thank-you. Unfortunately, nobody seems to have chimed in, and I am not a patient with PVCs......................but.......................I have had two ablations for AF...atrial fibrillation.

It's a long day. You get to the cath lab outer hallway early, 0700 typically (so may be an early rise for you and your friend/partner/spouse), you get taken in, change out of your clothes, IV placed in your elbow or wrist, and you wait. Anesthetist usually comes by to chat, ask you if you have questions. Nurse may take blood, give you anti-coagulants just prior to being wheeled into the chilly cath lab (it's cold in that room for the sake of the 'operators' all gowned up). You'll be asked who you are, why you are there, and who is performing the procedure. If you answer incorrectly, a loud buzzer goes off, red lights flash, there are stern and disapproving tsk-tsk's, and you're told to go away and study some more (...kidding).

You're put under with a mask over your face (this might be the worst part for you, try to just relax and do breathe deeply). Next thing you know, you awaken flat on your back, maybe a dry/sore throat if they inserted a TEE down your throat (trans-esophageal echocardiogram tube), and the nurse will caution you, again, to lie flat, don't even lift your head much, relax, and just doze or contemplate life for the next two/three hours to let the incisions clot and plug up sufficiently.

So, a possible sore throat if a TEE, maybe you'll dread the mask when it's placed over your face and you know you're about to be put under, or lying flat on your back for three hours unable to move until the nurse says to sit up, drink, eat, try walking around the ward so see if you can maintain blood pressure....those are about the worst parts.....for me....my experience. Not the drinking and eating and walking....those were a relief and welcome. No, it was lying there.

Oh, soon after you awaken your surgeon will come by and report what he/she could/could not do and how it all went.

Then comes a 10-12 week 'blanking' period where you resume normal life after a week or so of cautious activity, no lifting more than 10 lbs. Two weeks later, 12-14 weeks out, you wear a Holter monitor over night and try to act 'normally', including any exercise/sports to see how your heart behaves. You'll get a report a few days, maybe up to two weeks later.

@cmendes2026 I had an ablation for SVT in March 2026. My experience was great, and actually much more comfortable than what @gloaming described. The cath lab at my hospital has individual little patient rooms, where you start out at the beginning (5:30 a,m., yikes) and finish up for recovery. All iv's, bloodwork, discussions, etc were done in the comfort of my little suite, and I didn't go to the actual lab till the surgical team was all assembled and ready to go.

I had conscious sedation through iv, so no mask, just "there" one minute and "gone" the next. They did wake me up very briefly to induce my arrhythmia, but then...just gone again. Woke up easily in the recovery room, no recollection of the procedure except the brief wake-up for svt induction. Back to my little suite in about 20 minutes, then the rest of the day pretty much as @gloaming described. Discharged about 3:30 p.m. My home recovery was mostly uneventful and pretty straightforward, a few days of esophagus irritation but that resolved quickly.

I'm almost 3 months out now. So far no SVT episodes. I'm back to living my active lifestyle. If arrhythmia issues occur again in the future, I would go right for the ablation rather than medication control (metoprolol slowed me down way too much!) P.S. I'm 73 years old.

Best of luck to you!