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13 year-old with SVT; ablation or medication?

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julie66073
julie66073

Hello, my 13 year-old was recently diagnosed with SVT after trying for about 4 years to get an episode on EKG.  She went as long as 8 months without one but within the last year they occur every 2-3 months.  She is an athlete and it seems exercise and stress are triggers with the episodes increasing in frequency and duration.  The last episode lasted 1.5 hours with a HR of 222.  Her cardiophysicist is recommending ablation but we are very frightened to do this.  She has not taken any medication yet.  If we do the ablation, it would be good to do so over the summer; however we do not want to rush into anything either.  In them meantime, no sports. I am researching and trying to network in the DFW area.  Any feedback would be wonderful, thank you!

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Dumodal
    Dumodal julie66073

    Posted

    In my sincere opinion at that age I would go with ablation without any doubt, medication can limit your child activities and remember medication doesn't fix the problem.

    What kind of SVT they suspect?

    I am 29, dealing with SVT for 12 years, triggered by exercise too, I'm waiting for ablation and I'm on medication only for a few months while waiting and it's horrible I feel like a zombie.

    Ablation is a common procedure nowadays, success for SVT arrhythmias are as high as 95 %,

    Risk of complications is 1% just to give you an example the risk for fixing appendicitis is 5%.

    Just inform you about the EP who is doing the practical what is his success rate, how many ablation their team does per week, etc.

    Wish you all the best SVT Is really really annoying and believe it gets worst as you get older.

    • julie66073
      julie66073 Dumodal

      Posted

      Thank you so much! We don't know what type of SVT at this point. Our cardio physicist indicated he wouldn't know until he starts the procedure. She has had a stress test, echocardiogram and multiple EKG's. I will definitely find out how many ablation sour cardio physicist performs etc. Thank you so much for your feedback!

  • XxaimxX
    XxaimxX julie66073

    Posted

    At such a young age I would highly recommend going straight in for the ablation!

    I started with svt July 2015 but it was only caught September 2016. I went on medication while I got referred for an ablation and have to say they made me feel awful. Taking beta blockers made me very tired, I didn't want to partake in any activities. I could have slept all the time.

    25th April 2017 (24 years old) I had the ablation procedure done, I was laid on a bed with wires up to my heart through my leg, with some medicine to help me relax. I felt my heart go into svt a few times but that was because they was making it go, they could stop and start it whenever they needed to. One hour and a half later, the doctor couldn't induce svt no more and the procedure was deemed successful!!

    Now a few months later and not one episode of svt at all!! My quality of life is back and I'm a very bubbly person now.

    After the procedure you just feel pretty drained for a few days but I'm sure your child will have all the help she needs to stay relaxed!

    It is honestly the best thing I have ever done. I would recommend it to anyone. Good luck and I hope your child has the quality of life she deserves. Please message me anytime regarding svt and ablation 😊

    • julie66073
      julie66073 XxaimxX

      Posted

      Thank you so much for your response. Our Dr. explained that our daughter would have general anesthesia and a one night stay in the hospital to monitor her and make sure things are ok before going home. We definitely are also reluctant to start meds due to the side effects. Your experience helps a lot, thank you!
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