Thinking I'll Wait

On Thursday, I talked with a surgeon about having an ablation procedure (via catheter from the groin to the heart) to address my heartbeat irregularity problems. It was an interesting discussion. 

There are at least two different types of irregularities that are affecting me - SVT and atrial fibrillation. The surgeon was keen to go after SVT principally. Nevertheless, there is a big element of trial-and-error in a SVT ablation procedure, and if their attempts to stimulate irregularities (in order to identify the areas that need to be ablated) fail during the procedure, they might not ablate anything at all. So, I could have all the risks of a procedure, and none of the benefits. They could instead go after the atrial fibrillation, of course, but there are possible risks to nerves and the esophagus that could leave me with permanent shortness of breath, even as the "problem" is technically "fixed." 

I have some shortness of breath now, but I can deal with it. I'm still doing ballet without much problem.  If the heart races out of control, I have medication to bring it back under control.  And there is always the ER.  And strange as it seems, there is also the possibility the SVT problem might disappear altogether. Heartbeat issues are strange like that.

So, I think I'll wait for awhile. If you do surgery, it helps to be 100% committed to doing it. Totally freakin' gung ho.  Right now, I'm at 50%.