Two Atrial leads

My original pacemaker was placed in 1997. At the time a lead was placed in each atria, supposedly to stop atrial fib. I am preparing for an atrial fib ablation. The drs are all perplexed by the three leads. I had the pacemaker replaced in 2006 and the same leads were left in place. Does anyone have any experience with this three lead placement? That third lead may present a problem for the ablation procedure. Thanks for your help.

3 Comments

Ablation and 3 leads

by ElectricFrank - 2011-04-18 01:04:37

I really don't see where the third lead would affect an ablation one way or the other.

Who is going to do your ablation. This is not a procedure to be taken lightly and at the least should be done by an EP in a facility that does a lot of them.

Use care in understanding the statistics often presented about ablations. They often state that 90% of patients can be free of afib with the procedure. That means that out of 100 patients, 10 will not achieve good results. I notice that they rarely if even state. what condition these patients are in if the procedure wasn't successful. With ablation that destroys heart tissue it seems likely that there would be some effect on the heart, it isn't reversible if the outcome is worse than the original condition.

I'm not against ablations, but be sure you know what you are getting into. Hopefully, some other forum members will add their experiences.

frank

ablation

by keveri - 2011-04-18 06:04:28

Ablation is not always cure. I had one April 2010 with pacer insert. Eleven months to the day (3/21/11)I had AF episode and still trying to sort out the right medication.
This recent AFepisode, I felt for me, was not as symptomatic as the AF without the ablation. I did not have the chest heaviness/pressure or the pounding in my neck but certainly the the heart rates continued between 100-180,but the SOB and fatigue was terrific. Corgard helped me convert after 3 days. Still trying to adjust to this medication. I have a hard time physically and mentally adjusting to cardiac medications.
Wish you the best and hope you are one of the 90%ers.
Jan

Ablation with pacer lead

by golden_snitch - 2011-04-19 11:04:40

Hi!

Well, all I can say is that I have had three ablation procedures in my right atrium with a pacer lead in there, and that was no problem at all. Wonder why it should be in the left atrium? Could it be that for a pulmonary vein isolation they need several catheters placed in the left atrium, and a pacer lead would simply interfere/disturb?
Or is it rather that they doctors say it can be a problem just because they have never done an ablation in the left atrium in someone with a pacer lead in there? Maybe that's it. If your doctors are all puzzled by the third lead, you might want to talk to or have them contact the doctor who put your first pacer in.

Best wishes
Inga

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