AFIB

[ivinsfan]

Here is a part of the "About Me" section for the electrophysiologist I am considering to do my ablation:

"My major area of expertise is using complex ablation procedures to eliminate troublesome symptoms, especially in the treatment of atrial fibrillation. I was the first in Minnesota to do radiofrequency ablation. I have been doing ablation procedures for over 30 years and have done thousands of procedures. My patient outcomes for these procedures exceed national reports. "


Would you look further or just go with this doctor?

Don't know what area you are in, but those numbers are outstanding. We've also found the EP department at CentraCare Heart and Vascular center to be outstanding.



Ablation is one solution but there are other choices too.

 

[ivinsfan]

[I know this is an old thread but it is fairly specialized and therefore I didn't want to start a new thread.]

I consulted with an electrophysiologist today. Many things were discussed including the ablation option.

He did say the jumbled up electrical signals inside the heart that cause afib can be caused by heart tissue that has been scarred by strenuous athletic activity over the years. It is kind of sadly ironic that vigorous athletic activity can lead to a heart condition like afib.

In February I wore a Zio heart monitor for two weeks. It showed I was in afib for 18% of the time (about 59 hours), however afib occurred primarily in a stretch of 6 days and mostly on 2 days within that stretch. For example, on those 2 days I was in afib for over 6 hours each day. For 7 consecutive days there was absolutely no afib.

I'm leaning toward having the ablation procedure. I don't like treating symptoms if I can (hopefully) eliminate the problem altogether. Thinking of not being a daily slave to Sotalol and Xarelto sounds liberating to me. The thing is, my cardiologist is advocating the medicine route and the electrophysiologist is touting the ablation procedure. The EP says I'm an ideal candidate, since I am paroxysmal afib and relatively young (63). He says the afib burden, or percent of time I'm in afib, will only increase from 18% as I get older. The cardiologist makes it sound like ablation is a somewhat risky procedure and the EP makes it sound routine.

I ask again, for those that got the ablation procedure, what was the turning point that clinched the decision for you?

My understanding is that one risk of an ablation gone bad is ending up pacemaker dependent, it can happen.


My DH EP went with medication because of this fact, my DH has afib from years of dealing with a leaky mitral valve. Before the developed robot repair they would let the valves go until you started getting problems. In his case they waited a little too long. Mainly because for some reason my DH never felt many AFIB symptoms..

 

[Qs Laptop]

Don't know what area you are in, but those numbers are outstanding. We've also found the EP department at CentraCare Heart and Vascular center to be outstanding.

I'm in the Twin Cities, MN. I presume you are referring to the St. Cloud CentraCare?

Ablation is one solution but there are other choices too.

I'm listening...

 

[Keim]

I'm in the Twin Cities, MN. I presume you are referring to the St. Cloud CentraCare?




I'm listening...

Having been this route: The other choices I'm aware of are pharmaceutical.

I was a younger candidate, in my late 30s at the time. Several ablations did not work. Now 49 and control the issue with a combo of meds and pacemaker.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Having been this route: The other choices I'm aware of are pharmaceutical.

I'm taking sotalol. My cardiologist mentioned flecainide as an alternative but said my symptoms did not warrant taking it. Same thing with Propafenone. The electrophysiologist I saw said the same thing. Stay on sotalol.

I was a younger candidate, in my late 30s at the time. Several ablations did not work. Now 49 and control the issue with a combo of meds and pacemaker.

I'm glad to hear that you've got your afib under control.

 

[ivinsfan]

I'm in the Twin Cities, MN. I presume you are referring to the St. Cloud CentraCare?




I'm listening...

Yes St cloud, and I'm not a doctor my DH is well controlled by meds. Everybody is different but I wish you the best possible outcome.

 

[Keim]

I'm taking sotalol. My cardiologist mentioned flecainide as an alternative but said my symptoms did not warrant taking it. Same thing with Propafenone. The electrophysiologist I saw said the same thing. Stay on sotalol.



I'm glad to hear that you've got your afib under control.

I was on Sotalol for a few years with good results. Then it stopped working for me. Went thru several meds and an additional ablation attempt or two before arriving at current solution. I've learned that meds work until they don't, with no real predictability in the case of a congenital case like myself.

 

[ncbill]

I wish you all the best and hope your meds keep working.

After my grandmother's last heart attack (in her 90s) the only drug that still worked to control her AFIB was amiodarone...but she couldn't tolerate it orally.

Rather than be tied to an IV she just told her doctor to d/c all meds...then died a few days later.

 

[friar1610]

I'm taking sotalol. My cardiologist mentioned flecainide as an alternative but said my symptoms did not warrant taking it. Same thing with Propafenone. The electrophysiologist I saw said the same thing. Stay on sotalol.



I'm glad to hear that you've got your afib under control.

Did you have any reactions/side effects from either the flecanide or sotalol? A family member recently had a hospitalization for AFIB (initial episode in her life at 74) and was put on flecanide. Either it or the reaction between that an other meds made her feel very lethargic - tiring easily, no energy, etc. She was switched to sotalol but only marginally better. (No recurrence of AFIB, though). Still working with the cardiologist (who is on vacation) to try to fine-tune things.

 

[Keim]

Sotalol made me very lethargic.

 

[friar1610]

Sotalol made me very lethargic.

Did you just live with it while you were on it? Or did your body ever adjust?

 

[Charlotte]

I am on the lowest dose of flecainide and it has been wonderful for me… keeps my heart feeling steady and no side effects at the low dose. I sure hope it keeps working so well for me! Initially my EP started me on a beta blocker, and I hated everything about how it made me feel.

 

[CardsFan]

Off topic, but I always get a little sad when an old thread pops up, that was started by a dearly departed member.

Still an important topic, and glad to see it is still helping folks.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Did you have any reactions/side effects from either the flecanide or sotalol? A family member recently had a hospitalization for AFIB (initial episode in her life at 74) and was put on flecanide. Either it or the reaction between that an other meds made her feel very lethargic - tiring easily, no energy, etc. She was switched to sotalol but only marginally better. (No recurrence of AFIB, though). Still working with the cardiologist (who is on vacation) to try to fine-tune things.

I get a bit fatigued in late afternoon, usually around 4:30pm. A 10-15 minute nap recharges me. I rarely took naps before I was on Sotalol, now it's 5-6 days a week. Needing a daily nap directly corresponds with when I started Sotalol. Cardiologist and electrophysiologist agree it's the Sotalol that's responsible and not my getting older (I'm 63, started Sotalol 6 years ago.)

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Off topic, but I always get a little sad when an old thread pops up, that was started by a dearly departed member.

Still an important topic, and glad to see it is still helping folks.

I thought the same thing. I loved IMOLDERNU's posts and perspectives on life.

 

[kcowan]

Rather than be tied to an IV she just told her doctor to d/c all meds...then died a few days later.

My Dad stopped taking baby aspirin to keep a minor brain aneurism in check. Two years later at 95 he died. He was ready to go.

 

[kcowan]

I thought the same thing. I loved IMOLDERNU's posts and perspectives on life.

I just hope I will live to to have such a moniker. He was an inspiration to me.

 

[ivinsfan]

Off topic, but I always get a little sad when an old thread pops up, that was started by a dearly departed member.

Still an important topic, and glad to see it is still helping folks.

He lived a wonderful life and with dementia robbing him daily, all in all, I think he would have been OK with the way it played out.

 

[CardsFan]

He lived a wonderful life and with dementia robbing him daily, all in all, I think he would have been OK with the way it played out.

I think you are correct, but still....

 

[ivinsfan]

I think you are correct, but still....

but still we miss him!!!

 

[Exchme]

I got an Android smartwatch for Christmas, a Tic Watch Pro 2020. The health monitoring apps that came with the watch are tied to the Tic Watch apps on my phone and are OK to decent. A couple months ago I installed an app on my phone called Cardiogram which also gets data from my watch and gives more detailed data.

This is not necessarily a good thing. Previously, before I got my smartwatch I would exercise by using my rowing machine in relative ignorance of what my heart rate was doing. Now, however, I can't avoid it.

When doing a rowing machine exercise session you would expect a graph of your heart rate to start from a resting heart rate of around 70 bpm and slowly build up to a faster and faster heart rate as the exercising progressed. Something like this, which is from my rowing session on Monday, July 5th. (Click on graph to enlarge.)

View attachment 39468

Seems reasonable, right?

Now look at what my graph looked like the next day, the 6th.

View attachment 39469

Would you feel like exercising knowing your heart rate is jumping all over the place?

Then there is this session on the 8th, where I quit out of frustration, fear, worry, I don't know what, just that I didn't want to continue.

View attachment 39470

How can a person's heart rate start out at 110, drop down to 60, then slowly ramp up to 80, drop back down to 60, then climb to 120, all while maintaining a steady pace of exercise?

I also have heart rate data for when I'm sleeping. You probably do not want to see those graphs! This crazy fluctuating rate heart is becoming the main driver when contemplating getting an ablation.

I have crazy fluctuations too, apparently the atria is sending out hundreds of beat signals per second in AFIB and the AV node is trying to sort out what to do so will jump around.

After seeing my jumps to 200+BPM and my inability to take Beta blockers due to long pauses between beats with even small doses, I have an ablation tomorrow. Since they are prescribing Tikosyn to help stabilize the heart rate, it will be a couple days stay to get the dosage figured out.

Hopefully I will be able to exercise again, right now I have to be careful not to do much. Inactivity seems like a sure way to get unhealthy.

The pre-op test and scans turned up some more problems that need to be addressed, but that is for another day, today is about remembering what to pack for a day or two of sitting around a hospital.

 

[Alan]

I have crazy fluctuations too, apparently the atria is sending out hundreds of beat signals per second in AFIB and the AV node is trying to sort out what to do so will jump around.

After seeing my jumps to 200+BPM and my inability to take Beta blockers due to long pauses between beats with even small doses, I have an ablation tomorrow. Since they are prescribing Tikosyn to help stabilize the heart rate, it will be a couple days stay to get the dosage figured out.

Hopefully I will be able to exercise again, right now I have to be careful not to do much. Inactivity seems like a sure way to get unhealthy.

The pre-op test and scans turned up some more problems that need to be addressed, but that is for another day, today is about remembering what to pack for a day or two of sitting around a hospital.

All the best for tomorrow

 

[Keim]

I have crazy fluctuations too, apparently the atria is sending out hundreds of beat signals per second in AFIB and the AV node is trying to sort out what to do so will jump around.

After seeing my jumps to 200+BPM and my inability to take Beta blockers due to long pauses between beats with even small doses, I have an ablation tomorrow. Since they are prescribing Tikosyn to help stabilize the heart rate, it will be a couple days stay to get the dosage figured out.

Hopefully I will be able to exercise again, right now I have to be careful not to do much. Inactivity seems like a sure way to get unhealthy.

The pre-op test and scans turned up some more problems that need to be addressed, but that is for another day, today is about remembering what to pack for a day or two of sitting around a hospital.

good luck!

 

[bmcgonig]

Yes. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I have crazy fluctuations too, apparently the atria is sending out hundreds of beat signals per second in AFIB and the AV node is trying to sort out what to do so will jump around.



After seeing my jumps to 200+BPM and my inability to take Beta blockers due to long pauses between beats with even small doses, I have an ablation tomorrow. Since they are prescribing Tikosyn to help stabilize the heart rate, it will be a couple days stay to get the dosage figured out.



Hopefully I will be able to exercise again, right now I have to be careful not to do much. Inactivity seems like a sure way to get unhealthy.



The pre-op test and scans turned up some more problems that need to be addressed, but that is for another day, today is about remembering what to pack for a day or two of sitting around a hospital.

Hoping and praying that you had a successful procedure.