DH in Hospital under Observation and Medicare Issues

[razztazz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrvlBug m just hoping he doesn't make me take out the induction cooktop when he gets the pacemaker .

I don't know how humorous/serious that remark was intended to be but they keep telling me that I will not have a problem with most ordinary electronic devices except:

1) No electric arc welding (Damn! Now I have to find a new hobby!) and

2) Stay away from induction ovens. Proximity time must be limited to seconds. In my case the defibrillator is the important part. The pacemaker is secondary. That might make all the difference.

[TrvlBug]

Quote:

Originally Posted by razztazz I don't know how humorous/serious that remark was intended to be but they keep telling me that I will not have a problem with most ordinary electronic devices except: 1) No electric arc welding (Damn! Now I have to find a new hobby!) and 2) Stay away from induction ovens. Proximity time must be limited to seconds. In my case the defibrillator is the important part. The pacemaker is secondary. That might make all the difference.

We researched this when I got the cooktop 4 years ago as we knew a pacemaker was likely in DH's future. They are supposed to be safe for pacemakers. Obviously, if the defibrillator is an issue and DH gets the same device you are getting, the cooktop will be ripped out immediately and gas goes back in. Or if his doc recommends we get rid of it, it's gone.

[Koolau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrvlBug Unfortunately, even if successful, it only lasts for 5 years or so, which DH's first one did, almost exactly 5 years. Some of the areas regenerated as well as new ones which needed to be zapped.

I learned something! Thanks. Even my doc did not mention the potential for regeneration. Good news, so far, doc doesn't recommend. I'll know what questions to ask if it comes to that in future. Aloha.

[TrvlBug]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koolau I learned something! Thanks. Even my doc did not mention the potential for regeneration. Good news, so far, doc doesn't recommend. I'll know what questions to ask if it comes to that in future. Aloha.

Us too! Am anxious to see what his Apple watch says tomorrow. He was resting and sleeping on & off all day today. IIRC it will take a couple of months before we know if this ablation was successful. I'm concerned about the area they couldn't get to and what that means. DH was out of it this a.m. when he spoke to the doc and didn't think to ask that question. We'll have a list of questions for his appt next week.

When he first went into Afib years ago, they controlled it with meds until he starting having too many low blood pressure issues. Then came the cardioversions and finally ablation. This one was scheduled immediately as his heart rate was not controllable with meds...just to an 'acceptable' rate with continuous spiking.

Getting old sucks or as Mae West (I think it was her) says 'getting old ain't for sissies'!!!

[Bryan Barnfellow]

Best wishes and best of luck to both of you!

-BB

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrvlBug Us too! Am anxious to see what his Apple watch says tomorrow. He was resting and sleeping on & off all day today. IIRC it will take a couple of months before we know if this ablation was successful. I'm concerned about the area they couldn't get to and what that means. DH was out of it this a.m. when he spoke to the doc and didn't think to ask that question. We'll have a list of questions for his appt next week. When he first went into Afib years ago, they controlled it with meds until he starting having too many low blood pressure issues. Then came the cardioversions and finally ablation. This one was scheduled immediately as his heart rate was not controllable with meds...just to an 'acceptable' rate with continuous spiking. Getting old sucks or as Mae West (I think it was her) says 'getting old ain't for sissies'!!!

All the very best to both of you, I hope it all goes well.

For myself I had a cryo-ablation almost exactly 3 years ago at age 62. I was told it wouldn’t be considered a success until after 3 years, and also that procedures including a pacemaker might be in my future as AFib can always return as an issue.

My daughter bought me an Apple Watch for my birthday a few months after the operation to help me monitor any further instances. I already had, and still use, an Alivecor device to do an ekg and look for AFib.

Since the op I haven’t had a single instance so I have been lucky so far. ( The BP monitor I use most days also detects an irregular heart beat which I then check with the Alivecor and/or Apple Watch for AFib.)

[bmcgonig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koolau I learned something! Thanks. Even my doc did not mention the potential for regeneration. Good news, so far, doc doesn't recommend. I'll know what questions to ask if it comes to that in future. Aloha.

In my research on AFib and ablation it seems that the skill of the electrophysiologist is a major determinant of whether you have to repeat, or even whether the first one is successful and without nasty complications. Try to go to an EP that has done thousands of ablations. Some only do cryoablations on the pulmonary veins. That's where most issues are solved. If the problem is elsewhere on the heart they can't help. Others more skillful will go in and find everywhere there's a problem. Good prior research seems very important here imo.

At present the energy sources used in ablation are CRYO and RF. Freezing or burning. There's also another technology called Pulsed Field Ablation that is being tested that avoids many of the complications of CRYO and RF, so the longer you wait the safer it should become.

[MrsHaloFIRE]

For anyone seeking ablation feedback, DH had this done in 2007 timeframe due o Wolf Parkinson White (random episode of heart racing due to an electrical problem). Luckily, he had passed out while peeing in the middle of the night (so common they haev a Latin word for it) and I took him in and they decided to keep him (military hopspital). Nurse caught the episode later that night on the heart monitor and threw up the flag. Referred to Walter Reed (old Walter Reed, not Bethesda campus) and he had a ablation done via radio waves. I dont know the technical terms. He was walking a battlefield for work 3 days later, no issues since. Tiny bruise on the inside of each leg fold where they accessed his arteries. Hes run many marathons since then. So thats been 13 years of good use out of it. I wish to success to all others confronted by same/similar.