Psychological functioning in children and adolescents undergoing radiofrequency catheter ablation

This study examined 38 patients (age 6-18 years) with recurrent cardiac arrhythmias who underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation of ectopic myocardial foci. Psychological functioning was assessed by the Pediatric Symptom Checklist, Short Mood and Feeling Questionnaire, Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, and Arrhythmia Anxiety Queries prior to ablation and at 3-month follow-up. The patients resembled a normal population without elevations in anxiety or depression. After ablation, the patients showed reductions in the "fear of their heart problem" and increases in "the things that they enjoy." The patients who underwent a curative ablation had better functioning than those who did not show improvement. Children appear to have the opportunity for an improved quality of life after ablation.