my 9 year old son was born with wpw and ebsteins anomaly (misplacement of the pulmonary valve) when he was born.he is currently on sotalol ( a beta-blocker).in a couple of months he is to undergo a catheter ablation (they call this a non-invasive procedure.?) to eliminate the extra pathway . the valve problem is moderate and slows him down a bit when playing ,turns blue around nail beds and lips etc. but is otherwise a normal 9 yr. old boy.i would like to learn more info re this procedure so that his mother and i are a little more knowledgable in this area. any input would be appreciated
HI, I am 31 yr old male. When i was 13 I was diagnosed with wolf-parkinson-white sysndrom which caused my heart to palpitate. In 1989 I had an ep study where they just mapped my heart, but they didn't have the ablation tech down yet. In 1992 I had an ep study with rf ablation and I had no problems until about 1 year ago. I started getting palpitations again in 2002 and they came mostly when i sat down on the couch to relax. I tried to stop caffiene and I went to the cardiologist who ran the normal tests, ekg, echocardiogram, holtermonitor and got the answer that i have an irregular heart beat and it wasn't anything to really worry about. Recently, my palpitations came more frequently, and the cardiologist ordered me another 24 hour holter monitor and they saw some Pre-marture atrial contractions and some Tachycardia ( 145 beats per minute). I went to have an ep study yesterday morning and they found AV node reentry tachycardia path which they had ablated. So far, I feel much better, but the doctor wasn't able to say 100 percent if this was the cause, but I know for the last year and a half i was very concious of my heart beat because it felt like it skipped beats a lot and would beat fast at times. Today, I actually don't feel my heart beating and things seem normal again. The ep study has come along way since 92, which i remember every minute of it, but all i remember from yesterday is being wheeled into the room and then being in the reovery room. Hope this helps.
About catheter ablation:
It Is an invasive procedure. The surgeon inserts a catheter through an insision on the groin which travels all the way to the heart. There, they apply small electrical charges in different areas of the heart to recreate the symptoms. When a certain area of the heart [tissue] is identified as the culprit it must be destroyed. Radio Frequency, (rf), is then applied to that area which "microwaves" it, therefore destroying the tissue that causes the problem. A cooked heart you may ask? Yes!!!
(Radio Frequency has nothing to do with LASER as many people believe. Eg: your microwave oven is a transmitter @ 2.4 gigahertz [UHF] and not a lazer generator).
This procedure has become common lately but never risk free! It could perforate the heart if not done properly and cause even more palpitations later on. In some rare cases it can cause life threatening arrhythmias or even death. I don't want to scare you but the facts are the facts.
It is your right to ask the doctor about ALL that's involved before, during and after the procedure and if he/she don't give you all the information you want, CHANGE DOCTORS! You will be required to sign papers. Read them carefuly. Most likely things will go just fine but nevertheless YOU MUST BE INFORMED ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT TAKES PLACE.
Ask, push, push, ask, learn, discuss. I hope with all my heart that everything turns out just fine for the little boy and it probably will. Good luck!
Originally posted by martys3: HI, I am 31 yr old male. When i was 13 I was diagnosed with wolf-parkinson-white sysndrom which caused my heart to palpitate. In 1989 I had an ep study where they just mapped my heart, but they didn't have the ablation tech down yet. In 1992 I had an ep study with rf ablation and I had no problems until about 1 year ago. I started getting palpitations again in 2002 and they came mostly when i sat down on the couch to relax. I tried to stop caffiene and I went to the cardiologist who ran the normal tests, ekg, echocardiogram, holtermonitor and got the answer that i have an irregular heart beat and it wasn't anything to really worry about. Recently, my palpitations came more frequently, and the cardiologist ordered me another 24 hour holter monitor and they saw some Pre-marture atrial contractions and some Tachycardia ( 145 beats per minute). I went to have an ep study yesterday morning and they found AV node reentry tachycardia path which they had ablated. So far, I feel much better, but the doctor wasn't able to say 100 percent if this was the cause, but I know for the last year and a half i was very concious of my heart beat because it felt like it skipped beats a lot and would beat fast at times. Today, I actually don't feel my heart beating and things seem normal again. The ep study has come along way since 92, which i remember every minute of it, but all i remember from yesterday is being wheeled into the room and then being in the reovery room. Hope this helps.
Hello martys3
i am 16, and i too was diagnosed with WPW about 4 years ago and i had the catheter ablation procedure done and i am still to this day feeling as if the problem has not gone away. i have gone to my cardiologist and i have had countless ecg's, ekg's, heart holters, wrist watch monitors, and basically you name it and i have had everything available to try to track the palpitation. The doctor says that my palpitations aren't anything to worry about, but again, i feel it is because its not normal to have palpitations when your relaxing and doing absolutely nothing. I also have been feeling shortness of breath, and have cold hands. I turn pale and my heart seems to flutter, and my doctor says its nothing to worry about. Please write back and let me know if that is what you also felt.
sometimes i feel shortness of breath when i am having a palpitation, but it's more like i kind of have to concentrate on breathing, sometimes I actually have to get up and walk around and try to get my mind off of it. Recently i was having a really bad one and my friend said that i turned pale. I remember my hands started tingling during that particular episode. I don't have any signs of WPW on my ekg now but i am still having some palpitations even after my third ablation. I am scheduled to follow up with the doctor in about 2 weeks I'll keep you posted.
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