Is It Time to Re-think Typical Atrial Fibrillation Treatment?

Can you recommend a doctor to perform an ablation for afib on me?  I live near Concord,NC.

Have had a-fib for approx 10 yrs (am 74.)  I just had ablation#2.  Both ablations were done at very prominent AF Clinics,  Immediately after ablation #2 my a-fib went permanent and breathing is awful.  How does a-fib go permanent by having an ablation?  I can understand no improvement, but permanent?  Anyone have a similar experience?

I agree. I am 36 years old. I had a catheter ablation 1 1/2 years ago. Prior to that, I was on flecainide, coumadin, and Ativan (assuming anxiety threw me into Afib). My quality of life was terrible prior to that because of the Afib alone. I went undiagnosed with paroxymal Afib for about 3 1/2 years before I had a particularly bad attack at work. When I called and described my symptoms to my PCP's nurse, she told me I was having symptoms of a heart attack and needed to go to the ER. It wasn't a heart attack, but Afib. Once I met with the cardiologist and he described the typical treatment meds, I thought, "GREAT!" I finally know what this is and it is going to stop. It didn't stop. My qualify of life just became worse, and I gained 35 MORE pounds. I gained weight prior to beginning the meds because I was so exhausted and became completely inactive then the meds made it worse. Luckily, I only remained on the meds for just under a year before the ablation procedure. I'm free of medications. I recently started to have occasional palpitations/flutters, but they are gone before I even realize it and I have none of the fatigue, dizziness or headaches. I will be following up with my cardiologist regarding the recent flutters, and I understand that there is a chance that a 2nd ablation may be necessary, that was explained prior to the first procedure. But, I will gladly undergo a second procedure before ever going back on the medications.

I agree with this article. My afib started when I was 49 and got very bad at 57. I went on rate and rhythm medication and my quality of life went downhill. I would have preferred a medical procedure but my EP said I needed to fail the medical approach first. When I went on the highest dose of flecainide for the last year I was an emotional zombie and had no zest for life. My EP agreed that I failed the medicine because of my side effects and I had a TTmaze and then left atrial ablation for flutter. Afib/flutter is gone and I have my life back and I take no meds. I feel like the medical approach cost me two years of life that I could have had if I had gone straight to a medical procedure. I caution everyone, however, to shop around, only go to the best, and not listen to all the non-doctor "experts" on message boards. I kept going to doctors until I found the one that I knew was the best and had a proven success record. Being young (relatively) and very healthy saved me when I was taking the meds, I can't imagine the effect they would have had on me if I was 75. I think that insurance companies need to change their policy and have the doctor decide what is the best approach for each individual.

I hadn't been to a doctor in 10 years so my wife insisted I have a complete checkup since I was turning 70. I knew all the doctor would find was elevated blood pressure. Boy was I wrong. I knew I had problems by the look on his face when he listened to my heart. My wife commented that I snored and stopped breathing for up a minute. My lab work indicated my PSA was elevated.

A sleep study confirmed severe sleep apnea. A RESMED S9 and pillow mask solved the sleep apnea. My wife was absolutely thrilled. Very quiet white noise replaced my snoring and lack of breathing.

A prostate biopsy confirmed cancer. Advanced radiation therapy is now available in Austin, TX, The treatment was actually fun and I looked forward to going every day. My PSA is still going down and I am about 11 months out from the end of the radiation.

My third problem, AFIB, did not prove to be as easy to defeat.

I was referred to an EP Cardiologist who went through the usual steps. It was determined that I have been in AFIB continuously for about 5 years. My only symptom was fatigue which I always thought was due to the stroke I had when I was 55 years old which affected my balance.

I had 4 cardioversions that each lasted less than a minute. Rate control brought me down to acceptable numbers and I was told that this is where I will stay. I asked about Catheter Ablation and was told It was too risky for me. I was old and being in rhythm would not increase my quality of life.

Thanks to Mellanie I knew better and sought out the best EP group in Austin. I found them and a doctor who said I was a good candidatre for an ablation but it would not be easy.

I am 4 days out from my ablation. The fatigue fog is gone, I feel great, St. Davids hospital in Austin is fabulous. Thanks to Mellanie and stopafib.org I had the knowledge not to accept standard guidelines and accept my fate.

Being in sinus rhythm does make a difference in how one feels.

Barry

My Wife went through a Catheter Ablation, at the suggestion of her Cardiologist.She was sent to a "Specialist" in Van Nuys for the procedure.

In her case, the procedure was a "bust". A small whole was made in her heart wall, and she spent months, having fluid cleared from her chest via taps. She was completely miserable and would not consider another attempt. Everyone involved was sorry; but that did not help her very much. She is working with her various medicines for control.

Just wanted to make the point that the Ablation Procedures do not always work

as advertised.

Donald L. Mallick

While medicine MAY HAVE discovered better afib treatment alternatives, it is very important for cardiologists to work together with other specialists to look at the total picture of the patient. My understanding is there is also research out there that shows that people with central sleep apnea and afib have a very high
failure rate with ablations, no small issue. Research dollars going to prevention seem key as opposed to trying to fix the problem after the fact.

I'm curious about long-term studies that show that people that have had ablations live longer and are healthier. I haven't seen any what I would consider large studies showing that.