Steven Hao, MD

I am an avid cyclist that was riding over 300 miles a week. A few years ago, I was experiencing an accelerated heart rate every 6-​months that would last only a few hours. Over time, the frequency and duration of the episodes became more concerning. In 2014 I was diagnosed with A-​Fib. I made an appointment with Dr. Hao to discuss the possible treatments. Although I was extremely reluctant («Heart Surgery» sounds scary), I went in for the ablation procedure in January of 2015. My only regret is that I didn’t do the procedure earlier. There were no stitches, no recovery time, and no pain. I stayed in the hospital overnight but I easily could’ve walked home that night. The risk of a stroke while living with A-​Fib is much greater than any risk associated with the procedure. Doctor Hao and his team were great. I just had my 6 month check up — the procedure worked — I no longer have A-​Fib!

Dr. Hao and his team are great. He performed catheter ablation on me in March 2014 for SVT and my heart’s been running great since. I used to get SVT attacks about once every 4 years since my late teens but when I turned 30 they started to occur more frequently, once a year and then twice in 3 months before I decided to have Dr. Hao fix it once and for all.
The operating room and the technology they use for the surgery is amazing… it blows my mind that this type of surgery is even possible. I was very nervous going into it but once they started, it was very easy. They take you in and out of light sedation during the procedure, first to make small incisions on both legs (inner thighs) to thread the catheters to your heart. When they’re ready to start the ablation, they bring you out of the sedation, although not completely, you’re still very relaxed.
The ablation procedure is really cool, it’s as if your heart is a car engine and they’re genius mechanics running diagnostics on it. They ramp your heart rate up and down in various ways to induce the arrhythmia and burn off the culprit tissue that’s causing it until they can’t induce the arrhythmia anymore. Sometimes your heart beat is in SVT, sometimes it’s normal, sometimes it’s just pumping hard and fast as if you’re exercising, but you’re totally relaxed on the bed. It’s really weird and really cool, I enjoyed it, science is amazing.
Immediately after the surgery my heartbeat felt more solid and less erratic. I had more frequent spells of skipped heart beats (PVCs), but they subsided after 4 months. 1 year later I still get occasional PVCs every day (same as before the surgery), but I’ve been told it’s unrelated to what caused the SVT and is normal for most hearts. Once every few months I might get a prolonged funky beat/​flutter that lasts a few seconds as if the heart wants to go into SVT, but it quickly corrects itself back into a regular beat.
I’m really glad I had the surgery and got rid of that SVT burden. It’s nice not to have it looming in the back of my head during long plane rides or in the wilderness on a long hike. Not to mention no more emergency room trips for a shot of adenosine.

Dr. Hao transformed my life. I had to have two ablations three years apart. I flew over 2,000 miles to see him for my procedues since there were no specialist in my State. He is an top notch complex heart arrythrmia specialist. The follow up technical monitoring provided via a pocket size device provided assurance that things were going well despite that I was half away across the country. He’s a life saver, and my life is normal again.

I had an ablation with Dr Hao in November 2010. He is a superstar. The process was seamless and my care was superb. He and his team clearly are experts. Patients come from all around to have this team do this specific procedure. I came down from the Lake Tahoe area.