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Failed SVT Ablation
My EP attempted a second ablation last week. Both times he was unable to trigger the arrhythmia. My follow up appointment with him is next month. I have atrial tachycardia, & inappropriate sinus tachycardia. I’ve been living with this for 10 months. My cardiologist did not take this seriously, and I’m in the process of finding another doctor. At first I thought I was having a heart attack when I got the SVT episodes. By the time I got to the ER it would stop. However, I would remain in sinus tachycardia. They always brushed it off as anxiety. Over a few months my SVT episodes became very severe, sometimes lasting for 4-5 hours. At my last ER visit the SVT stopped before I got there, & the doctor gave me metoprolol to last me until I got into seeing my first cardiologist. Then the cardiologist put me on diltiazam, & ordered a holter. The diltiazam worked well at first, & I only had 1 svt episode in a month while wearing the holter. I was sent to an electrophysiologist and now almost a year later, & 2 attempted ablations Im still at square one because the arrythmia couldn’t be triggered. So nothing was done. I’m currently on ivabradine which helped at first, but now not so much. I’ve been on 3 different medications in less than a year because they stop working. I’m constantly dizzy, short of breath, and having intense palpitations even when my heart is not racing. I have severe fatigue everyday. I can no longer grocery shop and barely drive due to feeling like I’m always on the verge of passing out & dizziness even though I’m on medication. Has anyone else had difficulty with triggering the arrhythmia for an ablation? How many attempts do you make before giving up on ablations? I’ve done a lot of research & found hybrid sinus node ablation can be done for inappropriate sinus tachycardia. I feel like at this point I’ve ran out of options
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It's very frustrating to be doubted. You know your body, you know your 'normal', and this is nothing of the sort. You need someone to listen and to try to work on your behalf. I think you are wise to look elsewhere, maybe including a new EP.
Here is what I would do if I were in your shoes and had self-limiting/refractory arrhythmia that put itself to sleep every time it came near a monitor or ECG: I would pay a few dollars on amazon to get a six-lead Kardia (I just ordered one on sale today for the missus). Then, after spending some time getting to know it, what a normal sinus rhythm looks like when you're NOT having any symptoms, and keeping it very handy and charged up and ready to use, I would immediately reach for it, apply leads, and take a 15 second read, longer if there's adequate storage and ability in the app. You may also have to register and purchase a subscription (I will have to learn all this as well when I get ours in a few days). But the point is you'll have an uploadable record that you can send, as an electronic file, directly to a cardiologist's office, or to your EP if you still would like to retain his/her services. That record, held in his hands, won't be as easily dismissed.