Can a.fib be ablated?

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EireCara

EireCara

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Messages
1,307
Location
Kilkenny, Ireland.
Hi Everyone, Iv been thinking about what the events of the last couple of weeks, medically (its almost impossible to think of anything else right now)...anyway, In Nov I went to the ER where I had an ECG done and I was in ''A.Fib''.... I went for an EP study about 2 weeks ago, the cardiologist told me he didnt manage to instigate V.T so he didnt do an ablation. He did however cardiovert me from ''A.FIB''.

* Can anyone answer these questions? (1) Is it possible to ablate a.fib, and if so I am wondering why did he do the cardioversion and not ablate the a.fib.

(2) I take 75mg aspirin a day (only because I asked my gp to prescribe it for me) but is this enough to prevent clots from the a.fib, or should I be taking coumadin. Iv read that irr.heartbeats and MVR can throw clots also.

Thanks in advance....(grateful as always)!!!!
 
Yes, a-fib can be ablated through a catheter and, yes, you should be on coumadin for a-fib. Aspirin will not address the clotting that can be caused by a-fib.
 
WHY ON GODS EARTH DIDNT HE ABLATE IT....these people are seriously messing with my head. gggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO !!!!
 
Jacqui,

Are you still in a-fib? If a-fib can be controlled with meds or cardioversion, they will do that before an ablation since ablation is an invasive procedure.

I would definitely ask some questions.
 
Gina, I dont think Im in it right this minute, but I know by how I felt in Nov when I was in a.fib that I go in and out of it. Its not a very high hr due I think to taking beta blockers but its a very jumpy irr. beat and I feel soo unwell with it.
Im so scared of having a stroke...my life and that of my kids would be messed up for ever....I dont want to do that to them !!!!
 
Hi Jacqui:

I'm sorry you have so much to contend with in the medical realm. My dad has bouts of Afib and also gets very disconcerted and worried when it happens. He is now on coumadin, but he wasn't always. I think that when his episodes were less frequent, the risks were believed to outweigh the benefits. As his bouts became more frequent he was put on various medications to attempt to control. He has also been able to identify triggers (like alcohol and chocolate :( ) and eliminated those. Eventually, as the medications became less effective, he was put on coumadin.

It bears mentioning that my dad does not have significant valvular heart disease. I would think treating the underlying valvular heart disease may be indicated in cases where it is thought to be causitive.

Anyway, this is the most informative website I've found on the subject that is written for the patient--hope it helps:

http://www.clevelandclinic.org/heartcenter/pub/atrial_fibrillation/afib.htm
 
EireCara said:
Gina, I dont think Im in it right this minute, but I know by how I felt in Nov when I was in a.fib that I go in and out of it. Its not a very high hr due I think to taking beta blockers but its a very jumpy irr. beat and I feel soo unwell with it.
Im so scared of having a stroke...my life and that of my kids would be messed up for ever....I dont want to do that to them !!!!
Click to expand...
Jacqui,

Please talk to your doctor. It could be that you are not considered in enough danger to require coumadin but you do deserve to understand so your mind can be at ease. I do not know what the "limits" are because I was already on coumadin when I developed a-fib so it was never discussed.

Park yourself at the doctor's office until you get your questions answered.
 
Thanks P.J. that site is very helpful. I actually have every symptom listed on it. Iv noticed another interesting thing.....It says that 'amiadrone' is used to treat a.fib, and about 18months ago my old cardio put me on amiadrone and after reading up on it I wondered ''why on earth he gave it to me''.....''I didnt have a serious arrhythmia'', or so I thought. Now Im wondering is that the reason he gave it to me !!!
 
Gina, I spoke to my gp a week or so ago and she actually said the words ''jacqui I dont know whats going on''. She said she would write to my cardio URGENTLY and get me seen if only I had the a.fib recorded...I said ''I have it on paper at home on an ECG. I brought it to her office the next morning and am waiting now for an appointment. The 'joke' is, she is sending the ECG report to the hospital where I had the ECG done in the first place....dont they then already know I was in a.fib in Nov. Its like some kind of SICK JOKE at my expense.

The sad thing is though that if I were a private patient NONE OF THIS WOULD BE HAPPENING...I would be considered an important person instead of a non person. Im very sad about this, its like they are confirming what I have felt ALL my life....Im not important enough !!! 8-(
 
jacqui, I am new to this forum, but an old veteran with afib. Check out afibbers.org, it is a great resource.

There are different issues with afib. Some people are always in afib. Others are not. It is caused by different triggers with different people. It is not a one size fits all.

My afib comes on with certain types of stress. I have been totally afib free for a year and have had only one episode since August, 2005. There are supplements and meds that you should try before an ablation.

Right now, I am doing well, but my aortic valve is apparently not doing well. It is bicuspid and has performed well for 57 years, but is now quite calcified. It still works fine, but the opening is about 1/3 of what it should be. It will have to be replaced, probably sooner rather than later.

Afib is managable. Check out the the web site and don't let it get the best of you.
 
Jacqui, I had a-fib for many years. For all those years (about 20) it was controlled with medication. After using all the medicines, they finally weren't doing the job of controlling it, so after having a couple of cardioversions, I decided to have an A-V node ablation. Now of course, the downside to this procedure is that you need to have a pacemaker implanted afterwards. But for the last five years, I haven't had to deal with the a-fib. It's been wonderful. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but I can't feel the a-fib. It may be something that you want to ask your doctor about. Good luck. LINDA
 
There is one more thing that should be mentioned. If it ends up that you will have to have an operation for your valve when you move to England, usually if they are already opening up a person for that, they will do a maze procedure at the same time. If you do a google search on the maze procedure, you will find out a lot about it. On most of the things I saw on the Internet, they said 85% to 95% chance of working. My surgeon actually said the long-term results are 70%. Even that is pretty good.

In any case, I realize that you've got to have something done in the meantime.
 
My surgeon said the same thing Adrienne - he said that even though some sites on the net claim that the success rate is 90% plus, it's actually more like
70%. But it's worth trying, in the hope of long term freedom from AF.

Jacquie: I think you need to take decisive action and MOVE to England. You are getting nowhere fast living where you are. I think you said you have a sister there, maybe she would help you out, and be your advocate in the health system over there.
I know you probably think it's easy for me to say to do this......but for your kid's sake and your own peace of mind and health status you need to act.

Good luck

Bridgette
 
Thanks everyone. We are moving to England on 29th April. I am counting down the days. I love my country, my culture and the Irish people, but I will die if I stay here. So I dont know where Im going to get the energy from, but in 41 days we are moving.
 
a-fib

a-fib

Yes, you can ablate a-fib. When my husband developed afib he had cardiomyopathy, but somehow, time and meds it all went away. Until now, but he is just having pacs (premature atrial ??). We went to the electrophysiologist today. More tests are needed, a CT, and they will map the arteries in his atrail chambers for his future ablation.

Hope this info helps some, not exactly what you were looking for, but help is available, but get it fixed, and be sure to take daily thinner/aspirin until you do! Good luck....
 
one more thing...

one more thing...

The Dr we went to today said if he had a-fib he would have the ablation and not mess with the coumadin!
 
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