Cardioversion ?

i have to get Cardioversion done can u tell if ur asleep and if tis sore after it and whats the success rate

3 Comments

Cardioversion

by lenora - 2009-12-29 08:12:57

Valium and/or Ativan are usually given before cardioversion. No you will not be awake because it would be painful and you wouldn't be able to cooperate with the procedure which involves direct shocks over the heart with paddles. It only takes a few minutes. Your chest may be sore afterwards. Are they trying to shock you out of fib or flutter? Mine have not always been successful and have had to go back on beta blockers to break flutter. Depends on how stubborn your heart is!!

No pain

by janetinak - 2009-12-30 03:12:32

I had several over a few months to try & get me out of AFib but mine was so stubborn worked on me only once for 24 hrs. But they gave me the milk like stuff that I understand Michael Jackson used to sleep. It was IV with an anestheologist & my cardio docs there. Went to sleep fast & woke up fast. Piece of cake & only took a few minutes. Of course this was done at the hopital in their cardiac care unit (where they do procedures not the nursing unit, altho lots of cardiac RN's there, T.G!). I was sore the last time as had lots of voltage as it was a last ditch effort to get me out of Afib & flutter. I have heard of a lot of folks that have had great luck with these. Unhappily I was not one. Hope you have better luck that I did. Went on to do an AV node ablation & PM & that fixed symptoms from Afib. Still in Afib but PM paces my ventricles so get good blood flow. EF of 65%!! Yipee.
Janet


Didn't work

by Angelie - 2009-12-30 11:12:06

I was in constant high rate flutter with variable block for a couple days straight. My EP (who's 4 hours away) asked my local cardiologist to shock me. He didn't think it would "stick" but we proceeded anyways.

I was given Propophyl, (the same thing Michael Jackson OD'd on). It's great stuff. Like Janet, knocked me out fast and woke up fast with no ill effects from it.
One 20 joule shock reverted my flutter back into a atrial paced rhythm, but unfortunately it returned during the night. I knew the very second I opened my eyes the next morning that I was back into the flutter. It's a feeling that's unmistakable.

I eventually had an ablation to terminate the flutter, after being in it constantly for over a week. So far I've been flutter free since April 09, but unfortunately now ( and a bit of mixed blessing) I'm 100% atrial paced now. Something happened during my flutter ablation, and my underlying rhythm is a junctional escape rhythm. It could have been the last straw from all of my previous ablations though, as the flutter ablation was my 5th or 6th- I've lost count. Flutter ablations are more successful than a-fib ablations, because with flutter they just have to terminate the electrical circuit. It's a little bit more experimental and complicated for flutter's cousin, A-fib.

All in all, I'm happy with my result. I'm 100% paced, but at least it's so much easier clinically to treat slow rhythms than fast ones.

Good luck with your cardioversion. Keep us posted.

Angelie

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