Clarence Bass Says "Yes" to Ablation

“Even though you have not noted a significant decline in exercise tolerance, today’s Airdyne stress test revealed an SVT near maximum exercise intensity and your blood pressure dropped down to 92/56,” Dr. McFarlin wrote in his report.

[The main differences between Afib and SVT is the regularity of the heartbeat. With Afib the heart beat is completely random, and cannot be predicted. It goes from very fast to very slow within minutes. SVT on the other hand is characterized by a fast heart rate and does not go back and forth.]

“I anticipate ablation of the SVT arrhythmia will significantly improve your exercise tolerance,” Dr. McFarlin continued.

Dr. John Ho, a board certified cardiologist at the Cooper Clinic, explained to Clarence that his heart rate irregularity is probably genetic and not life threatening. They went over ways to manage it in considerable detail. The first option being to continue monitoring his heart rate. Stay the course for now.

The second option was medication to control the heart rate spikes. The third was ablation.

Dr. Ho, who has been very supportive in discussing Clarence’s heart fitness, wrote a letter of referral and forwarded his records, to a cardiologist in Albuquerque with a special interest in ablation for athletes and others. He explained that Clarence is a long time patient of the Cooper Clinic and “has embraced a healthy lifestyle with impressive fitness regimens for much of his life.”

A few months later, Carol and Clarence met with Dr. Sean Mazer, a highly regarded Albuquerque heart surgeon. As we were to learn, Dr. Mazer is a leader in electrophysiology, heading up a team that does more successful heart procedures than any other hospital in the country.

It is extremely unlikely that we would’ve been able find this doctor, much less get in to see him, without help from Dr. Ho.

This was to be our one and only face-to-face meeting with Dr. Mazer.

Meeting with Dr. Mazer

As we explained here at the time, Dr. Mazer agreed with Dr. Ho that doing nothing is a viable option.

Clarence asked Dr. Mazer if he would have ablation in his case. Without a moment’s hesitation he said “NO.” That Clarence’s situation is not life threatening and if he’s willing to put up with things the way they are, staying the course is the way to go.

By hindsight, we believe that Dr. Mazer sensed Clarence’s reluctance to proceed with ablation and that pushing him into it would be asking for trouble.

He invited us to come back to see him if the heart spikes get out of hand.

A follow up with Dr. Ho found him surprised by Dr. Mazer’s assessment, but in agreement that doing nothing unless heart-rate spikes become more burdensome is a rational approach.

Time to Proceed with Ablation

Over the next two years, Clarence’s heart rate spikes became more and more troublesome. Knowing the spikes are not life threatening, he learned to breathe deeply and wait for the pounding in his chest to pass.

Over time the palpitations became more and more onerous, blowing up workouts and making him more and more uncomfortable.

It was time to proceed with ablation.

Carol called Dr. Mazer’s office, explained Clarence’s situation and asked to see Dr. Mazer.

The appointment was not to be.

The next thing we knew we were scheduled to see a very knowledgeable PA to examine Clarence and answer our questions about ablation. (Clarence was relieved to learn that he would be sedated during the procedure.)

The very next day, we were surprised (shocked) to receive a call telling us that the procedure would be in two weeks, and that we would be receiving a packet with details and instructions before and after ablation.

About Ablation

The following information on ablation was pieced together from the internet, what we learned from the PA, and Clarence’s own experience:

Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) ablation is a non-surgical procedure to create scar tissue within the heart in order to block abnormal electrical signals and restore a normal heart rhythm. It does not require a general anesthetic or stopping the heart.

What to expect:

Once the sedative takes effect, a small area near a vein in your groin or neck is numbed and catheters are inserted into the vein. Your doctor carefully guides the catheters through the vein and into your heart.

The catheters are equipped with electrodes that are used to record your heart's electrical activity and to send electrical impulses. Your doctor uses this information to determine the best place to apply the SVT ablation treatment. A tip on the ablation catheter will emit high-frequency electrical energy to destroy the abnormal tissue, resulting in a scar.

After SVT ablation, most people see an improvement in their quality of life. But there is a chance your fast heartbeat may return. In these cases, you may need to have SVT ablation again or may need other treatment.

Clarence’s Experience

As promised, the procedure was painless, but Clarence was happy to be wheeled out of the hospital to where Carol was waiting to take them home.

The worst part was fasting since early morning and waiting for hours before it was his turn. We checked in at 11:30, and two apparently unscheduled surgeries came before he was wheeled into the operating room at about 4:30.

Except for one glimpse, Clarence did not see or talk with Dr. Mazer. We suppose that his fast paced schedule leaves little time for chit chat.

Meeting with us two years ago may have been enough for him.

What to Expect

The packet sent to us included information on what to expect and what to do and not do.

“Almost everyone will have some heart rhythm symptoms after ablation is performed,” they warn. “It is normal to experience palpitations (the feeling that your heart is racing or pounding) after your ablation.”

Clarence has had a spell or two. He woke up one morning with his heart pounding. But never during exercise or exertion.

Several of the “activity” warnings seem like worse case scenarios. Understandable considering the wide range of patients involved.

He was told to expect to be very tired and experience some mild chest pain during the first week. No vigorous exercise during the first week or lifting greater than 5-10 pounds.

After one week, he was counseled to SLOWLY return to his prior level of activity.

He did feel a little something going on in his chest in the first week, but no particular tiredness.

He started doing an abbreviated version of his “Morning Motion” routine at mid-week.

He resuming training in week two, with substantially reduced effort.

Photo by Guy Appelman

Clarence’s back won’t tolerate charging up a mountain, but his heart and back seem to like climbing stairs in our home.
By the third week he was going up and down two levels 7 times non-stop either before or after bodyweight bench squats.
Not holding on to the railing made it more challenging.

[A study led by our friends at McMaster University found that stair climbing is safe and effective for stable heart patients, producing both cardiovascular and muscular benefits. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210517102635.htm ]

It felt good. He expects to be near full recovery when we see the PA for a “follow-up” at six weeks. (The guidelines say most people are fully recovered at three months.)

* * *

Please understand that we are not suggesting throwing caution to the wind, just that there is some flexibility in guidance such as this. Clarence is a lifetime exerciser--lifting early on and then a combination of strength and aerobics--and recovers faster than sedentary individuals, especially those his age.

He went into ablation in good shape and looked forward to a speedy recovery.

Our experience is that going into to a procedure in good shape means coming out sooner. His speedy recovery after both hip replacements are examples. https://www.cbass.com/Hiprep.htm and https://www.cbass.com/hiprep2_2.html

We’ll report how things went in our next update.

March 1, 2022

Six Week Follow-up

Our meeting with the PA on March 16 went very well.

While Clarence can feel his heart beating--palpitating from time to time but no pounding--the supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is gone. The PA tells us that it "is unlikely to recur." That there were no complications and the chances of it coming back are about two percent.

He did say that the older you are the more likely you are to have a relapse. Clarence said, "I am old." The PA responded, "and you will get older."

What came next is something that Carol picked up on. The PA added that there's a difference between being old and getting older, implying that Clarence is definitely in the "getting older" category. Clearly better than being old.

In any event, Clarence is now on an "as needed" basis with Dr. Mazer's office.

They are deferring his case back to the Cooper Clinic, which referred him to Dr. Mazer.

One more thing of interest.

As noted earlier, Clarence went back to his Morning Motion routine in the first week and added strength training in the second week.

As he told the PA, his poundages are almost back to what he was lifting before having the Ablation procedure.

We thought he might scold him for resuming training so soon, but he smiled and didn't say a thing.

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

* * *

As he told Dr. Ho (who was kind enough to call him), Clarence's only regret is that he didn't have the ablation sooner.

We hope his experience will be helpful to others who are suffering with an irregular heartbeat. Every case is different, of course, but Clarence's experience was very good. No negative surprises.

We are hearing from many people relating their experience with ablation. Seems that Clarence's experience may be about as good as it gets.

Our only caution is that you take your time selecting a surgeon. As you will recall, Clarence had a referral by Dr. Ho, who used his connections to find the best ablation neurosurgeon in our area. Without his help, we'd have had a very hard time finding Dr. Mazer and getting in to see him in a reasonable period of time.

It will be interesting to see what Dr. Ho has to say at this point. Clarence is scheduled to see him in June, when he will repeat the heart scan about three years back that showed his coronary arteries to be wide open.

This procedure is Dr. Ho's specialty. He brought it the Cooper Clinic.

We are hoping that Clarence's coronary arteries are still wide open. We'll let you know.

* * *

A final bit of news is that Clarence had his best high-rep workout since the ablation, the day after the follow-up exam. He made it to 50 slow reps in the bench squat.

Good training to you all.

April 1, 2022

Selected Reader Comments

The Benchmark

I’ve been following you for over 20 years and in that time have read – and continue to read - many, many articles on other sites about health and fitness, but your site is the benchmark, and the one I ALWAYS return to..!

I felt a real personal connection to you this time and am so happy things have worked out well for you.

All the best wishes from the UK.

Fitness Track Back

We are overjoyed that the ablation procedure went so well and you're back on your "Fitness Track."

Indeed your association with those many medical experts you mention is excellent testimony to anyone who would cautiously embark on physical improvement that they are on the right track.

Lifelong Healthy Lifestyle

Glad to hear your recovery was so fast. That probably also has to do with your lifelong healthy lifestyle and body condition. Interesting that you allow us to follow this because ablation is more common than one might think. (My brother had it done.)

Greetings from Belgium

Enlightening

Glad to hear you are doing well Clarence!

So many of us are enlightened with all the exercise and medical news you have given us thru the years.

I thank you for all the info and best wishes to you!

Bench Squats Confirms On Your Way

Best wishes for a successful recovery.

50 slow rep bench squats is a whole lot better than what most people can do, so no doubt you are on your way! And not the least bit surprising!

May 1, 2022

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