drinking

Hi i'm a longlasting persistant a-fib patient who the dr said it is all alcohol related. I've had 9 cardioverts and am going for an AV node ablation and i guess a pacemaker. I haven't drank for two years, I was just wondering if anyone has been this particular route and then started drinking again, i would love a beer!

2 Comments

AV-node ablation for Afib

by golden_snitch - 2014-05-12 02:05:53

Hi!

Have you tried drugs? Pulmonary vein isolations (PVI, special catheter ablation for Afib)?

Sounds like a pretty drastic plan to go straight for an AV-node ablation + pacemaker, just because cardioversions have failed. Do you have permanent Afib? "Ablate and pace", the approach you are supposed to have, is usually only for those Afib patients who have it permanently, and in whom ALL other treatment options, including PVIs and different drugs, have failed. It used to be done more often in Afib patients in the past when procedures like PVIs did not exist, yet. But now that PVIs are available, this is usually the first kind of ablation one tries, before even thinking of ablating the AV-node. Some patients also undergo minimal invasive surgical ablations in addition to PVIs. And only when both procedures have failed, ablate and pace is offered. So, if I were you, and if your cardio does not want to try anything else, but wants to do an AV-node ablation right away, I'd run and get a second opinion.

A beer should be okay. I mean, after an AV-node ablation, what your atria are doing really doesn't matter that much any longer. They can fibrillate all the time, but it won't take over the ventricles. Instead, your ventricles will be paced at an appropriate and steady rate. So, even if the alcohol did cause your Afib, it's no longer relevant.

Best wishes

Inga

drinking

by riversidian - 2014-05-13 04:05:31

thank for all your input, I was looking to find a close situation to min, but we are all unique in these situations. Inga i have been constant afib for two years!

You know you're wired when...

You participate in the Pacer Olympics.

Member Quotes

I am an avid scuba diver.