Only a few years ago, it was only possible to achieve the removal through an ablation surgery. Nowadays, however, there are many other options, some of which are the following:
A Catheter Radiofrequency Ablation, which is a procedure of treatment of the SVT without having to open the patient's chest. It consists on removing the abnormal tissue causing the disorder by exposing it to heat.
ICD, which stands for Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator, implanting this medical device below the patient's collarbone helps monitoring the heartbeats' rate. It regulates the heart's activity, and makes the muscle function on a slower pace whenever it beats faster than the norm.
The Pacemaker is another advanced medical device that regulates the speed of the heartbeat. The doctor implants it under the patient's collarbone as well, and then wires it to the heart. The device emits electrical impulses that are meant to stimulate the muscles of the heart.
The mentioned above procedures require little or no surgery. They are usually combined with the usage of medications. Those may include drugs that prevent clotting of the blood that may lead to severe chest pain, and eventually death, a combination of medications that make that heart rate slower, etc It is important for the patient to realize how significant the accuracy of the diagnosis is in prescribing the right medicine for this type of disorder.
The SVT Ablation can also be realized through surgery, which is always the patient's last option. The surgery is an open-heart procedure that consists on cutting the muscle of the atria several times and then stitching them back together. The lines created interfere with messages of electrical and chemo-electrical nature, and reduce the size of the abnormal tissue preventing it from causing tachycardia.
General anesthesia is used throughout the procedure, thus the patient whose chest is open is completely unaware of their surrounding at all times during the surgery. This prevents them from feeling any pain and discomfort.
After the surgery is over, patients are usually requested to lie on their back in a flat position for about six hours, which may cause back pain. Using a pillow is not allowed, neither is falling asleep, with no exceptions.
Because of the complexity of the operation, and because of the big number of people who do not survive through it, only few hospitals agree to operate on patients who need an SVT ablation.
It is highly recommended that you make sure your doctor is not only qualified, but also very well-experienced in performing the SVT ablation, as any small mistake cannot be allowed.
