Catheter Ablation

Question: How long does it take to heal after you have done catheter ablation? I have Wpw and im going to need to do catheter ablation and i'm wondering how long it has to take to heal after catheter ablation because i am taking a sport and i want to come back as soon as possible

Answer: It really depends, but expect anywhere from 7 days to 1 month.

Question: Should I have a catheter ablation after major heart surgery? Should I have a catheter ablation for WPW after I just had a valve replacement? I don't know if it would be too much for my heart to handle right now? How long does it take for a heart to heal after some one has just had a valve replacement? When is it that a person will start to feel like themselves again?

Answer: I can answer the question about the valve replacement, but as far as the catheter ablation goes, you should talk with your doctor about how long to wait to have that done. I would say you do need to re-cooperate from your valve replacement first, but again, that is a question only for your cardiologist to answer. I had my mitral valve replaced in 2003. I started feeling pretty good and myself again at about 4 months (strength coming back etc). At 6 months I felt totally fine and better than I had felt in a long time. It seemed as though for the first 3-4 months after my surgery I tired very easily and my chest sure was sore for a while. Again after about 6 months I was totally normal, exercise, work full time, and go about my normal daily routines. It could be less time for you or maybe a little longer. People recover at different rates and it is not usually the same for everybody. My mother also had open heart surgery (valve replacement also) 2 years before me and it took her about the same amount of time as me. Best wishes to you.

Question: how long does it take to heal after a catheter ablation? My husband had a catheter ablation on Jan 12. The doctors told us going in that it was fairly minor, but he has not gotten better. He is still in a lot of pain and can't really walk. They did an ultrasound a week ago and said they didn't see anything wrong. is his pain normal after this long or should we get a second opinion?

Answer: Definitely go for a second opinion. Call the first cardiologist's office and ask for copies of all his records, and then make an appt with another cardiologist-- ask friends and acquaintances who they may know that would be recommended. Should be feeling much better after the procedure.

Question: Have you had a Catheter Ablation for a Heart Arrhythmia? My cardiologist has spoken to me about having a Catheter Ablation because I have Supraventricular Tachycardia. It sounds pretty scary. What's it like?

Answer: Hi. I had a Wolff Parkinson White Syndrome and had an ablaton in May 07. I'm only 23, so was pretty scary. I was quite scared, but my cardiologist explained alot to me before hand. Mine was done under a local anesthetic (I'm in NZ, not sure where you are) and I had plenty of happy drugs to calm me down (Valium). They insert 3 wires in the crease at the top of your thigh. (I think they can go in through your arm too) They are quite small (left 1cm marks, don't even have scars!) It didn't hurt, but did tickle. You can feel them moving the wires around your heart. You have an x-ray machine over your chest so the cardiologists can see what they are doing. They will pace your heart to find where the pathway is, then burn it to prevent it from conducting the electrical messages (they go up to 70 deg Celsius). My op took 3 hours and they had to try 33 times to get it properly as mine was on an angle. They got it on their last try, luckily. At times it was painful when they were burning a thin area, but most of the time it was fine. Whenever I could feel anything, I would tell them and they would give me more local in my thigh. My surgery was at 7pm and got out at 11pm, I had a nurse with me and I had to stay flat and still for an hour afterwards to allow it to clot. I was discharged the next morning. Recovery was pretty quick, I competed in a Dancing competition 5 days afterwards! I have not had any trouble since my ablation, which is great that i don't have to worry about more palpatations! Let me know if you want more info.

Question: catheter ablation? i had this procedure 3 weeks ago and still have a pea sized lump in my right groin ,im also still having alot of pain and discomfort is tis normal ???

Answer: Everyone's pain thresh hold is different. What you may consider to be pain, another may consider to be discomfort. It is normal at this point to have some swelling and discomfort in the groin area, but if you feel it is extraordinarily painful, or it doesn't go away in another week, call your primary care physician, or cardiologist.

Question: I need to get health insurance and had catheter ablation 5 mos. ago to fix SVT. What's the big deal? The catheter ablation fixed the problem, but now that I might need to get individual health insurance, I've had a couple of agents tell me that this could be a problem. The problem was fixed and it wasn't fatal, just annoying.

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Question: I just had a catheter ablation of the heart to cure SVT, how long does it take for the heart to heal ? I'd like to hear from someone who had this procedure as to how they felt during the recovery period. I know I shouldn't lift more than 10 pounds and should take it easy, but how did you feel in the weeks after the procedure?

Answer: Did I just answer your question earlier regarding catheter ablation for SVT? Basically if done correctly, the procedure is very effective and as you know, usually means that you no longer have to take medication. You should be back to normal within 3 weeks- even sooner really. It isn't open heart surgery which you had as you know, the catheter was inserted through a vein in your groin, so it's comparatively noninvasive compared to open chest surgery. Recovery time is pretty quick.

Question: Does it cost to have Catheter Ablation procedure in Canada? My husband is thinking about having it done. Do anyone know if it cost money?

Answer: The only way you will know for certain is to call & find out. It would depend on the rules & regulations. It might not if it was ordered done by a doctor - but - if it is 'elective' - it might cost. Call & find out.

Question: Has anyone developed blue spots around incision after catheter ablation? I have developed blue spots around the incision in my groin and shooting pain. Has anyone else experience this? If so what was the cause. I have a doctors appointment next month just a little curious. Also I have severe pain in my neck it feels like a crock but I not really sure. My physician thinks that nothing is wrong but I think different. If you haven't had this precedure don't respond.

Answer: While I have never had an ablation, I worked as a nurse for 13 years with pts who have them. The blue spots are probably due to a small amount of blood that oozed from the puncture site, it's probably just a small bruise. As long as the site does not swell or become very bruised, it should be nothing to worry about. As for the neck pain, that could be some muscle stiffness or spasms from the way you were positioned on the ablation table and the length of time you were on there. Good luck and feel better.

Question: Has anyone had a heart catheter ablation? I have supraventricular tachycardia, I have only had 6 or 7 episodes and these started almost a year ago. My heartbeat get to 160-240 beats per minute. The doc says I need an ablation done. Has anyone else had these done and was it permant. Thanks I am really scared I have a 1 year old and the thought of anything being done to my heart scares me

Answer: Trust me. It's not that scary. I'm only 16 years old, and I had it last fall (when I was 15). I only had 1 episode, which was a month before my operation on October 10th. My heart rate went all the way up 235 beats per minute, and they had to chemically revert me back to normal (90 beats per minute, although mine is now smaller then that). For one, you should see a cardiologist to get his big OK to have it. For most people, it comes out just fine. I have AVRNT (Atrioventricular Nodal Reentry Tachycardia), which is just an SVT. It normally takes 1 1/2 hours to up to 3 hours. Lucky for me, It took less then 1 and half hours. All they did to me was get me in the normal hospital robe, put an IV at the side of my wrist (as if you went down from my thumb to my wrist), and gave me a couple drugs. They didn't fully put my under, so if I felt any pain, I would tell them. After getting a couple patches on me, connected to wires, and brought me into the surgery room, It was easy from there. They make cuts into your legs (after numbing the area of course!) and go into the main arteries there. They use thing wire with a camera and burning-thing. They go up into your heart and try to make your heart go back into an arrymthmia. Once there, they can find the spot and burn it off. The only side effects may be lumps at where the cuts were(which were REALLY small cuts!). You may stay over night, or be let out the same day. For me, I was in at 10 AM, and I left the hospital around 5:30. So it wasn't that bad. Yes, it is perminant. You won't get it again, unless its a different type of tachycardia. Hope this helps. <3