Afib

[becca]

My husband started with Afib episodes 2 1/2 years ago, at first they would go away on their own, then he needed cardioconversions and they would go away for 5-10 months but the latest conversion only lasted a week. His doctor is recommending medication (sounds like nasty side effects) or ablation. He is 75 yo. Anyone here with Afib?

[Souschef]

My DW has AFIB. She went down the same path as your DH. When nothing else worked, she had a pacemaker installed and had an ablation. She is about the same age ad your DH.
She is also on Xarelto, a blood thinner.

[bmcgonig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by becca My husband started with Afib episodes 2 1/2 years ago, at first they would go away on their own, then he needed cardioconversions and they would go away for 5-10 months but the latest conversion only lasted a week. His doctor is recommending medication (sounds like nasty side effects) or ablation. He is 75 yo. Anyone here with Afib?

If you do a search for AFib you’ll see a few threads on it. Quite a few have it, and some of us have had ablations.

[bmcgonig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmcgonig If you do a search for AFib you’ll see a few threads on it. Quite a few have it, and some of us have had ablations.

Also here’s a good forum to ask some questions aside from here. Many people there very experienced with AFib and ablations etc.

https://www.afibbers.org/forum/list.php?9

[Richard4444]

becca: Ironically, I mentioned this in a different thread earlier today. I had been diagnosed with aFib and aFlutter 3 years ago, very recently it progressed to persistent aFlutter, so I had an ablation April 5, now in the healing period. I was on rate control medication, I tried a rhythm control med which didn't work for me, and so far the ablation seems to be doing well. For many, medication is all that is needed - Best of luck and health!

[ivinsfan]

When you say doctor is your DH seeing an EP cardio doctor? Ablations are not with risk. Are you talking black box warnings on the side effects or general side effects. Everyone has a different reaction to meds , I'm not sure what the harm is in trying the meds first.

[RonBoyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by becca His doctor is recommending medication (sounds like nasty side effects)

I have had Afib for going on 20 years. Everyone is different, as you will see when you visit the above forum. For the record, I am one of the lucky ones who are asymptomatic, meaning I have no physical awareness of the arrythmia.

I don't know what medication your doctor is prescribing but I have been on Warfarin (Coumadin) and a Beta Blocker (Atenolol) to control heart rate for the whole time and have suffered no side effects of any kind. The new replacements for Warfarin claim to be safer but they are much more costly.

The main issue with medication is one's diet. Being careful not to change vitamin K levels without adjusting dosage is important.

[npage]

afibbers.org. register, read and learn.

Shannon Dickinson the owner of site and others will steer you to Dr Andrea Natale in Texas for good reason. He saves lives and solves the most complex cases for others who have been failed by many other institutions and electro physiologists. Rich folk fly in from around the world to pay cash for his services. You may or may not need his level, but if an option, it would be an easy choice knowing what I know now.

Each case is truly unique so be careful to accept quoted success rates and risk factors. They are an average of the guys who just did his first ablation out of residency the most experienced (often not much more successful) to the best. Choose your EP carefully.

I learned the hard way with a diagnosis at an early age, went thru three failed ablations at a top big city University med center and had all but given up hope. I was highly symptomatic and in heart failure as a result of my uncontrollable heart rate in afib. Shannon and Dr Natale saved my life. 5 years afib free now with no meds.

You will hear about all sorts of diet and witch craft with some merit to perhaps ease the burden. But once your afib fails to respond to diet, meds and all that, a successful durable ablation is the closest thing that exists to a "cure". Done properly it is an effective "cure". Your heart will always try to go into afib once you have it, so a cure is in quotes. The successful ablation simply keeps the pattern of electrical activity from being able to sustain the afib. The beast is caged so to speak. A bit simplified.

Best of luck.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd I have had Afib for going on 20 years. Everyone is different, as you will see when you visit the above forum. For the record, I am one of the lucky ones who are asymptomatic, meaning I have no physical awareness of the arrythmia. I don't know what medication your doctor is prescribing but I have been on Warfarin (Coumadin) and a Beta Blocker (Atenolol) to control heart rate for the whole time and have suffered no side effects of any kind. The new replacements for Warfarin claim to be safer but they are much more costly. The main issue with medication is one's diet. Being careful not to change vitamin K levels without adjusting dosage is important.

My situation is similar to yours but I use Xarelto as the blood thinner. I have persistent, ongoing arrhythmia. My heart beat is always erratic. My bp machine, my Apple Watch, EKG’S always show an erratic rhythm. But I’m asymptomatic and my electophysiologist says available fixes would be riskier than just living with it.

[calmloki]

Amiodarone? It was prescribed after my first ablation - story was that the longer the heart could be kept out of Afib the less likely it was to go back into Afib. While I didn't have many side effects reading about Amiodarone scared the heck out of me. Went off it after about ten months. Afib returned. Oh well. Other pharmaceuticals are managing the Afib now, been nine years since the Vfib required an AICD. Still ticking.

[bmcgonig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet My situation is similar to yours but I use Xarelto as the blood thinner. I have persistent, ongoing arrhythmia. My heart beat is always erratic. My bp machine, my Apple Watch, EKG’S always show an erratic rhythm. But I’m asymptomatic and my electophysiologist says available fixes would be riskier than just living with it.

Your EPs opinion might be correct, but I’d definitely get a second opinion from someone highly experienced like Natale who npage referred to in the above post. Lots of EPs just don’t think they’re capable of fixing some tough AFIB problems. But some others do feel capable. Worth a chat with them.

[RonBoyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet My situation is similar to yours but I use Xarelto as the blood thinner. I have persistent, ongoing arrhythmia. My heart beat is always erratic. My bp machine, my Apple Watch, EKG’S always show an erratic rhythm. But I’m asymptomatic and my electophysiologist says available fixes would be riskier than just living with it.

My situation is exactly the same as yours except for the Xarelto. Including the same risk assessment by my cardiologist. (And I have a Garmin watch not an Apple.)

[Alan]

When my Afib used to start then I’d feel a little dizzy and would be breathless if climbing a steep incline. I had a cryogenic ablation in 2018 and so far so good, I haven’t had an episode since and am on no medications.

[npage]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bmcgonig Your EPs opinion might be correct, but I’d definitely get a second opinion from someone highly experienced like Natale who npage referred to in the above post. Lots of EPs just don’t think they’re capable of fixing some tough AFIB problems. But some others do feel capable. Worth a chat with them.

This, they all think they are the best and can do as much as the next guy or gal. Nothing could be further from the truth. And it is scary how they will draw a line in the sand of this or that is the only way, when it is literally messing with your life simply because they do not have the knowledge or skill to go further.

I get mad just thinking about it

[Avalon]

I've been having bouts of Afib for about 4 months now. I've had a cardio doc recommend a KardiaMobile device to record and relay the 30 second files to his office, and have been doing for several months now.

I've noticed that no matter how severe/impressive an Afib event is during the 30 second recording time, KardiaMobile always notes 'normal sinus rhythm'.

I can record these events fairly easily, and have selected and sent 6 of the most severe/impressive events to the doc through my medical portal. I received no comments for many weeks, until a nurse responded to one saying, 'you have normal sinus rhythm'.

When I view the recordings, they obviously have abnormalities on them or I wouldn't have sent these particular files. Very troubling and confusing.

[npage]

Abnormalities do not mean afib. Afib is a specific pattern that looks chaotic for sure on an ekg. All sorts of other skipped beats PAC's, PVC's and combinations there of can feel and look chaotic but may not be afib.

To further confuse some old school EP's will not call afib such until it last longer than 30 seconds. Not sure how the Kardia treats this.

In my case, back before successful ablation there was no mistaking it. My heart instantly jumped to 150BPM and flopped around like a wet fish. I did not need a Kardia or EKG to know.

[Bamaman]

My wife started having AFIB problems last Summer. She said she felt like a weight was on her shoulders. They shocked her once, and she's been in rhythm since--with medications to control the situation that are best not taken in the long term.

But the cardiologist wants her to have an ablation ASAP. The cardiac surgeon is booked up months ahead doing ablations, but he worked her in on 5/9/2022. The meds taken after that point are not as hazardous to your health.

AFIB is a very common ailment. It's very important to inspire the cardiologist to order an ablation--if that's the next step.

[Avalon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by npage Abnormalities do not mean afib. Afib is a specific pattern that looks chaotic for sure on an ekg. All sorts of other skipped beats PAC's, PVC's and combinations there of can feel and look chaotic but may not be afib. To further confuse some old school EP's will not call afib such until it last longer than 30 seconds. Not sure how the Kardia treats this. In my case, back before successful ablation there was no mistaking it. My heart instantly jumped to 150BPM and flopped around like a wet fish. I did not need a Kardia or EKG to know.

Good info. Thank you.
Searching PVC's seems to better match what I'm experiencing.

I'm scheduled for an echocardiogram May 2nd.

[Qs Laptop]

Hey, fellow Afibbers, I had my ablation procedure April 8th. I am 64 years old and have paroxysmal (intermittent) afib since 2015 and the bouts had been increasing in frequency of late. I was told because my afib was intermittent and because of my age I was a good candidate for a successful ablation procedure. I was told I was in the group that experiences a 70-75% success rate.

After the procedure I saw a marked improvement (decrease) in the frequency and severity of heart rate spikes and I was in normal sinus rhythm. For the next several days I felt a bit more energetic and did not feel a need to take my usual 20 minute late afternoon nap. But several days after the procedure the spikes were almost back to pre-ablation levels.

I was told this is normal as the heart is healing the ablation created scars at the sites that were creating the spurious electrical signals that were causing Afib. This healing could take 1 to 3 months but they felt eventually I would no longer experience Afib.

I went in for my one week follow up checkup and the EKG showed I was in Afib with resting heart rate of 110 bpm. I was schedule for a cardioversion four days from then and it would be administered if an EKG showed I was still in Afib. I went in four days later and was not in Afib, so no cardioversion was done.

They are taking me off of sotalol and putting me on metoprolol. I have to wait 3 days after stopping sotalol and then I'm to start taking amiodarone (tomorrow). I will be taking amiodarone for 6 weeks with each week decreasing the dosage. The doctor is confident I will eventually be free of Afib and told me not to worry as these sort of post-ablation symptoms are quite common.

Question for those who have had the ablation: What was your experience with post-procedure symptoms? Were you completely free of Afib or did it take a while for your heart to heal and seal off the Afib?

[npage]

Hope you are one and done though very common to need a touch up ablation in the hands of most EP's. The best of the best, not so much. But it varies so much by patient hard to make any blanket statements. Everyone may have contributing factors or more to the story that are hard to capture and compare yourself to.

As to the blanking period you are in, it varies greatly by patient. I left my 1st three ablations at the hands of a lesser idiot and was in and out of afib and worse then when I started the process 2 years later. Pretty much had gone permanent, say 80% of time constantly in and out of Afib, permanent would be easier.

After my Natale ablation, I was afib free right away and it never returned.

You can't really judge the success until you are off the amiodarone or any antirhythmics you are on. They are still helping. I took Multaq after my successful ablation for 2 months, stopped cold turkey and it never returned (5 years).

Until you are off amiodarone and afib free you can't declare victory or not. Some EP's will say ablation is successful even though you remain on drugs, but that is jenky at best and something else at worse.

After 3 months if you are still getting Afib, get a 2nd opinion from a top EP. As to top there are others besides Natale, though he is considered best. afibbers.org can be where you research that further.

I know I was skeptical as I had a "top guy" and a top University health system. He himself said there is nothing Dr. Natale does we can't. Yeah, other than actually give someone afib freedom, egotistical jackass!