alt Hacker NewsThis procedure changed my life. I had two radio frequency ablations in Calgary in the mid 2000s when I was 16 to cure PSVT. They did an electrophysiology study during the first surgery to determine it was dual AV node syndrome, which was one of the best case scenarios. If I had been born a few decades earlier this would have required open heart surgery. The crazy thing about this surgery was that I only had to lie flat for a few days and rest for a week before going back to playing football. No scars, no side-effects.
An interesting side note is that I was awake and high on valium for both surgeries. I remember them inducing the tachycardia with adrenalin and some stimulation during the first surgery and saying "yup there it is" out loud.
Had this done too to cure PVCs - a irregular heartbeat that wouldn't have killed me, but it did lead to an enlarged heart and low energy.
I remember feeling great during the procedure thanks to whatever meds they gave me. I could watch them on a screen threading the wire in through my femoral artery all the way up into the inside of my heart. Then I felt the exact moment I was cured. The irregularity I'd known my whole life just changed rhythm. Then they injected some stuff to stress test the heart at high and low speeds. 24 hours later I was back home.