need help

Hi to you all;
Was wonderin if I can get some feed back re my dual lead pacer, ( bioteknic?),

Went to see my electro-cardilogist last week for a check up after having the op on the 30th of Feb this year and he always does a ECG prior to seeing him.
During the appointment he told me the ECG showed my top chambers were in A/F/ and was I ok, I said I felt fine albiet a little bit puffed but nothing really worried me. He said if meds wern`t helping like soltanol? then I may want to consider having ablation, I told him that not to keen on this proceedure as have known many others who have had it and are still having problems 2 and three time later, he said yes it can happen and there are risks associated with the proceedure.

Wondering what to do really cause am not tolerating some meds to good as well and am thinking of stopping and trying to do without and live with it and the pacemaker... bottom chambers seem to go ok and most times I feel ok but now in back of my mind am thinking if all is ok and dont know if and when top chamber is beating ok, does anyone have any ideas or have same issues? thank you for any feedback and take care, johnb

7 Comments

Asymptomatic Afib?

by golden_snitch - 2013-07-23 02:07:44

Hi!

Well, if you can stand the Afib and it's not causing too many symptoms, I'd chose anticoagulation alone over adding antiarrhythmic drugs or performing an ablation. The EPs I know always say with regards to Afib: The symptomatic patients get treated, the asymptomatic do not necessarily require antiarrhythmic treatment. Afib itself is a benign arrhythmia; the dangerous part of it is the risk of blood clots forming that lead to a stroke or an embolism.

I think, if I were asymptomatic with Afib or could tolerate the symptoms well, I'd wait with an ablation. Success rates at the first attempt are only around 40%-60%, maybe 65%, depending on which study you read, so you might really need several procedures. And even with several success is not guaranteed. Also, there is LOADS of research done on better ablation techniques for Afib, so if you can wait a few years, the success rates might be much higher and the procedures much safer. Right now, Afib ablations (PVIs) do carry some risks that other ablations, for instance AVNRT ablation, don't.

Best wishes
Inga


No meds.

by Duke999 - 2013-07-23 06:07:51

First, I want to say that I'm not a doctor and this is pertaining to my case only. After I had PM put in in March this year due to Afib, Brady, PVC's, I was prescribed with Flecanide, but I refused to be on meds, so I have been taking magnesium & taurine supplements to control the arrythmia. It appears to do the job. Occasionally, I have some pauses, but not so bad. I'm just sharing with you my case, and I'm not by any means recommending you to do this or that. Have a nice day.

Duke

A-Fib control

by Roys - 2013-07-23 08:07:27

Do you have silent A-Fib? People with silent AF often ignore it, since it is not bothering them so much, and then some other event occurs, like a stroke. Having AF for years will increase the size of the heart. I would have an ablation now, if you can't control the AF, it will only get worse as you get older, as I found out.
Cheers Roy

afib

by Tracey_E - 2013-07-23 10:07:35

I would choose ablation over meds because meds have side effects. The biggest risks of an ablation are it not working or ending up with a pm. You already have the pm so the worst that can happen is it doesn't help and you're back where you started with meds. I think people who come out of it feeling better very much outnumber the ones who get little or no relief. The ones who feel great and get on with their lives don't come talk about it, we only hear from the people who had the complications.

interesting...

by lubro - 2013-07-23 12:07:08

Are there statistics showing the number of actual "successful" vs "non-successful" results from ablation? I have only had my pm for about 6 months, and am on meds to attempt to control the afib. I seem to tolerate my meds ok, but perhaps I may want to consider an ablation as well. The thought of not haveing to take the meds is so very appealing... But, I'm reluctant to have any procedures done unneccessarily...
Guess I need to start reading up on ablations...
John... good luck with your decision... it's a lot to think about.

Two risks

by golden_snitch - 2013-07-24 04:07:18

Hi again!

The two main risks of Afib are:
1. stroke, and
2. heart failure (enlarged heart).
Now, the risk of stroke can be reduced with anticoagulation. The risk of heart failure is associated with permanent high ventricular rates, so that a rate control approach with an antiarrhythmic drug can help to reduce this risk. Not all Afib patients have high ventricular rates. There are many who just have an irregular pulse, but the rate is never too fast. And there are also some who have bradycardia caused by Afib. So, if you are one of those patients who has high ventricular rates, you should be on a drug to try to slow this rate down, in addition to a blood thinner to prevent blood clots and stroke.

Yes, Afib causes Afib. If you leave it alone, the episodes will most likely occur more often and for a longer period of time. You might one day end up with permanent Afib. However, some people even with permanent Afib are not symptomatic, and in those patients it's not absolutely necessary to control the rhythm. They need anticoagulation, and if their heart rate is too fast, they need something to slow the rhythm down. But they do not necessarily need a procedure to stop the Afib completely.

As I said before, if I were asymptomatic with Afib, I'd take the anticoagulation and probably rate control for at least a couple of years, and then see how far the EP research on Afib has come. The progress EPs have made with regards to treatment of Afib within the past 10-15 years has been tremendous, so give them another five years or so, and they'll probably be able to ablate and cure Afib with just one catheter ablation.

Best
Inga

thank you Inga

by jaybe630 - 2013-07-24 10:07:04

Thanks for your feedback Inga and all concerned,
Have an appointment to see my cardiologist on Monday next week so will hopefully find out which type of A/FIB I have re symtomatic or asymtomatic.
Am on Cartia I think 100mg daily so hope that helps re clots risk, not sure if in A/F that much as feel not to bad most of the time, although when rushing or stressed a bit my pulse when felt at wrist is going a bit around 100 BPM or so. will write after I have seen him to update and keep in touch,, thanks again. Johnb

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