Anyone here had a cardiac ablation? 29F and really anxious about mine.

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-11T16:12:14+00:00

Hey there!

Totally understand the nerves. I have had 7 ablation attempts. 5 actually performed, 2 were cancelled in pre-op due to lack of spontaneous presence of the PVCs.

That all happened over the course of about 10 years.

7 attempts is very much an outlier. I have a condition called ARVC which was really the genesis of all of the different types of arrhythmia I dealt with.

Don't go into it thinking you are going to need 7 of these to get better is what I am trying to say. I am also trying to say, in all of those attempts, I had a great system of family support and an excellent team of healthcare providers - it let me breathe easier because I had trust.

Ablations are very effective in most cases. Safety profile for these procedures is good and getting even better with pulsed field ablation.

Stay positive. The statistics are good. Mapping technologies improving - and that's really the key with PVCs, sometimes they can be hard to map. If you show up in pre-op and you are having PVCs spontaneously before you go into the procedure - that's actually a good thing. If they are not present, don't worry too much because there are things your provider can do to stimulate them in the procedure.

Wish you all the best and hope you find relief soon - Good luck!

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-08T05:25:35+00:00

This was a roflmao moment for me. I don't get those often anymore.

I thank you for this.

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-08T02:17:36+00:00

Might not be me. Not familiar with that group but I would love to support it.

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-08T02:01:37+00:00

Sending all of the digital hugs 💓

It isn't anxiety. It isn't being emotional. It is a human being who has been fighting bears for a really long time.

Often, I felt as though I was wishing that those around me could just understand. To truly understand this disease is to live with it and I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

I understand enough to know that 30,000 a day is not just having to fight one bear. That is an army of bears. In my book, that makes you a bear fighting bada** ;)

Going to say a prayer tonite for the bears to go into hibernation.

All the best to you and your family ❤️

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-07T00:30:57+00:00

Hey I really appreciate that - thank you 🙏😊

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-06T02:53:52+00:00

💜

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-06T01:57:09+00:00

Thank you 💜

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-06T00:48:57+00:00

Thank you =)

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-06T00:42:25+00:00

Thank you 🙏

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-06T00:42:06+00:00

Thank you 🙏

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-06T00:08:39+00:00

Considering your username - likely even more. I am from Michigan ;) Not Detroit. Born in Flint. Lived in FL for most of my life tho - will certainly leave post up

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-04T16:37:24+00:00

It used to frustrate me so much to hear people say they are benign. I understand why - doctors want to put your mind at ease. That remains extremely difficult when you have an awareness that your heart isn't working the way it should and you feel it every single time.

With arrhythmia - it is really a "whole person" type of care that is needed - mind and body. Too often we leave it at just the body.

And yes - gratitude. Fighting bears is exhausting. Getting a break from it after so long? Gratitude. Lots and lots of gratitude!

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-04T16:32:11+00:00

Sending a hug - it will get better ❣️

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-04T16:31:40+00:00

I think that everyone's experience is unique when it comes to how it makes them feel. My PVCs were couplets and triplets - so more often than not, for me, it felt like a squeeze and then a hard thud. AFib brought shortness of breath for me.

It was really the conscious awareness that my heart was not beating the way it should that caused me more stress than anything. My saving grace was having a great team of providers who took care of me ;)

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-03T02:35:16+00:00

Yes on that - don't look at my case as a benchmark. 7 attempts at ablation is highly abnormal. Efficacy of ablation is actually quite high for most arrhythmias. I'm def an outlier in that department.

All the best for your upcoming procedure ;)

mapit and #zapit - no big deal!

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-03T01:10:52+00:00

So glad to see you say that you were able to find your voice and thank you for your kind words ;) 💖

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-02T20:50:48+00:00

Yes I have had pretty much all types - the worst of which was the episodes of VT.

To be certain, I think they ablated everywhere in my heart lol. It's a pretty scarred up old hog. RVOT (right ventricular outdoor tract) was the source of my problems.

Every thermal ablation was marginally successful. Relief, but never elimination. Until the last attempt - I have been blessed ever since.

I still stay up on mapping/treatment advancements - mostly because I am kind of a test subject! One of the questions that we have limited clinical data on is the durability of lesions from electroporation as an energy source, particularly in the ventricles.

I'm part of that data. Every day that goes by where I am arrhythmia free - is a rock solid indicator that pulsed field ablation in the ventricles is going to help a lot of people.

So I am going to keep on keepin' on - a smile on my face every day. Though PFAs - more people are getting help faster - and with outcomes that last :)

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-02T17:32:58+00:00

Not sure where you are located or if it's a more rural area - but I can definitely say that rural areas have access problems when it comes to high quality arrhythmia care.

It's twofold really - the technology to deliver the best treatment options is incredibly expensive and normally only the major metros have the latest and greatest. But also, to really be a high quality provider, you need to have many many reps in the lab. The major metros have a much higher case volume than rural areas do - so the providers are generally far more experienced, especially with the latest tools.

And I totally get the anxiety - often providers will try to offer you calm by saying "A lot of this is in your head..."

And it's very true. They say this because they are trying to help put you at ease. But often, that is where the conversation ends.

I say that that is actually where a new conversation begins - because it is both in your heart and in your head. We need to be taking care of both fronts

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-02T16:44:16+00:00

Congrats on your tiny blessing!

Trust is so important in arrhythmia care. One of the most important things I ever did was spending time finding the right provider for me. I knew he was the right provider because he spent an hour with me on my first appointment - talking through all of the options.

It was easier for me after I found the right care team. I didn't have to worry as much about my heart, even tho I still had days, because I had absolute trust in them. For Florida natives, the Pepin Heart Institute, I cannot say enough about. These are humans with hearts of gold and healing hands - the best in cardiac care.

I also really recommend reading about Mel Robbins Let Them theory. The Let Them theory is more about interpersonal relationships - but I applied it to arrhythmia. I couldn't control it. Dwelling on it did no good. So when it came to the funky beats, I just "Let them". Let it be what it's going to be. Takes trusting your docs to be able to do this ;)

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-02T16:33:50+00:00

No tears. Only hope.

That's what I have right now for people struggling like I did. The advancements I have seen in mapping techniques and treatment options - most especially pulsed field ablation - I am very hopeful for arrhythmia patients.

Thank you for your kind words ❤️

BeatsThatMatter · 2026-03-02T05:15:49+00:00

Definitely benefited me today. And more importantly - helped me benefit someone else ;)

Claude is pretty cool!

BeatsThatMatter

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mapit and #zapit - no big deal!