Cardiac arrhitmia?

Question

I've been having cardiac arrhitmias since I am 13 years old. About 250 bpm and sometimes less. Diagnosis was an anomaly in the mitral valve of my heart Currently I am 30 and I am on medication "amiodarone" to control my heart beats. Doctors said it is a condition that might dissapear after 18 but my last arrhitmia was 1 year ago. Is there any way to get rid of this condition or is it for life?

Answer 1

Karina - It is difficult to give you a good answer without knowing more about your arrhythmias. My best guess is that you're arrhythmia is atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation or Wolff-Parkinson-White. An SVT is less likely to have been treated with amiodarone all these years. Regardless, ALL of these arrhythmias are potentially treatable with radiofrequency ablation. What this means is that a specialist in electrophysiology can try to find out where the source of the arrhythmia is, and then get rid of it by ablating it with a controlled dose of energy. This involves the use of special catheters that are passed through your blood vessels and into your heart; no surgery is necessary. I would talk to a cardiologist who is familiar with your condition to see if this is a possibility for you. I hope that is helpful. If you want to post some more info about your arrhythmia, I can try to give you a better answer. Good luck!

Here is some good info about what RF ablation is: http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/heart-encyclopedia/treat/rf.htm

Answer 2

Karina,

Speak to your doctor again, this time write down all the questions you have and have him/her answer them all. He/she is in a better position than us to answer your questions because he has followed your issue for a long time. If you get no answers, get a "second opinion" from a respected GP or cardiologist in your area (talk to friends with heart problems, they are bound to have the name of a good one).

You may also want to speak to your doctor about switching your medication. It sounds as if the amiodarone might be helping you if you have very few episodes of your arrhythmia, however there are now more effective and safer drugs to treat tachyarrhythmias.

Best Wishes,
Ian

Answer 3

There are options for you and this condition is treatable. Find a good cardiologist and they should be able to help you. Mitral Valve may need to be replaced, cardioversion, ablation, etc. Lots of options, but, only your doc can decide which is best for you.

Answer 4

agree with answer to check with cardiologists to see about ablation or change in medication from amiodarone to a safer medicine.

Answer 5

You need to see a good cardiologist for the best answer.