Afib ablation

Doc has talked me into second ablation , last one done a year ago and he is claiming 80 to 85 percent success odds this time, comments? Should I just go to pacemaker instead of this journey again? I had a tremendous amount of pain on the first go around and he said they would do better job of pain mgt. this time anyone else have huge amount of pain, thanks sorry so many questions.

6 Comments

A-fib

by Roys - 2015-01-27 11:01:00

Hi
Why did you have so much pain? I had an PVI (ablation) 6 years ago it took 7 hours, and I had no pain during the procedure or after, no pain killers required. It was not a cure but a big improvement on my AF, I was 79 at the time. At your age I would have it done again. Is your doctor an EP who has done a lot of ablations? Mine had done over 1000
ablations.
Cheers Roy

Pain

by Alma Annie - 2015-01-28 04:01:05

I had 2 sinus node ablations a year apart. The first time I was in agony and let EP know!!!. He said he could not sedate me as he wanted to see my reaction to the procedure as it would have a bearing on what he did. Well as my heart rate dropped to 23 he really did not finish it as there was a situation where I might have to have a pacemaker. So 2 days later I had one anyway. As my symptoms were still bothersome he decided to do another ablation a year later. I said not without sedation. So this time he gave me so much that not only did I not feel anything, but I could not move off the table. They had to lift me back onto the bed as I was still in la la land!
I am sure they will give you heaps of sedation if you explain why. Hope this helps.
By the way, my EP is an expert in heart rhythm disorders, even to being begged to return from Europe to South Australia to teach others, so I am sure that he knew what he was doing, despite the pain!
Alma Annie

Tragg

by Travg - 2015-01-29 03:01:46

Thanks for responding Roy and a Annie. My doc does about 150 of the ablation a year so my confidence if
Is ok with him I jut think the recovery room staff didn't believe the pain level number of 100 when they asked. We got way behind pain curve and they had to give me something 3 times stronger than morphin, forgot drug but it worked finally late pm.did your procedure cure the afib?
Just wondering if anyone has gone thru two ablutions and still has it with even taking rhythm meds. My goal is to try to get off some of these meds as they are expensive and so many bad side effects. Just wondering if going to pacemaker might be a better option instead of 2nd ablation.thankd for posting your thoughts.
Travg

pm

by Alma Annie - 2015-01-29 05:01:20

A pacemaker does not cure A Fib, it only prevents heart rate from going too low. An ablation can cause the heart rate to go too low, which happened to me, hence the pm. At my 2nd ablation the EP was determined to destroy the node to clear everything up. Since I already had the pm there was no danger of it going too low. Whatever he did worked, and most of my cardiac symptoms cleared up, apart from I get out of breath doing too much, but I think that has to do with the other cardiac issues I had.
I had lots of meds to try. One gave me hallucinations, so I refused. I now just take metoprolol, which stops chest pain for me. I have never had any side effects from it, about the only heart drug that doesn't give me a reaction.
I think you should be guided by your doctor. Ask lots and lots of questions, and make sure he answers them. (Mine told me nothing which stressed me out, in fact I have learned most things from this site.)
Alma Annie

Pm response

by Travg - 2015-01-29 06:01:51

Thanks pm for your comments. Interesting I did ask the question about PM and physician stated that could be an option. One wonders some times about these guys and their boat payments if you get my drift. I have had many health issues with various cancers and you are so correct about asking questions, they only offer what you probe for.
As posted my concern is how successful this time will the ablation be, I have spoken to several folks about this and may report the second go around usually does it, one told me they did it 3 times before there was success. Thanks
Travis

PM for Afib

by Roys - 2015-01-29 07:01:42

Hi
Some of the new PM can help control A-Fib with with overdrive pacing system, but it is not a cure. And even if they destroy the AV node it is not a cure for AF, as the Atria is still in AF. but you will not feel it because the pm is pacing the ventricles, and you will need to stop on drugs like blood thinners. The only cure for AF is an Ablation in the Atria, and some people need more than two Ablations
Google A-Fib .com by Steve Ryan it has all the info you need, and was a big help to me. If you want any more info E-mail me.

Cheers Roy

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