Arythmia

[Pete0629]

I have had afib for the past 1-1/2 years. I have gone through Adriodone and multaq. My cardiologist said I need to talk to someone about cardiac ablation. I am in continuous afib and in good health other than afib. My stress test turned out good with no blockage and no heart enlargement at all.I get dizzy once in a while and feel weak sometimes. I am 56 years old. What are the chances that an ablation would be successful? I feel I can't play racquetball, run, cycle or play tennis anymore because the strenuousness of the activity isn't helping my heart since it is beating in odd ways now and not efficiently.
Thanks you.
Pete Nicholls

[Angel_001]

Hi Pete!
I feel you on the insurance frustration!!!  I just had a baby and it cost me twice as much as it did over 2 years ago with my first.  Both were uneventful deliveries - but a hike in rates.  I've had Blue Cross for 4 years now and the last 2 years cost and coverage are unsatisfactory...so much for health care reform...
Let his office work for you.  A lot of the times they can put in individual requests with your provider and win coverage.  Either way you are doing a fantastic job educating yourself and using all the options available to you inorder to resolve your AF!!!
You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers! Keep me posted.
Cheers
Angel

[Angel_001]

Hi Pete!
I feel you on the insurance frustration!!!  I just had a baby and it cost me twice as much as it did over 2 years ago with my first.  Both were uneventful deliveries - but a hike in rates.  I've had Blue Cross for 4 years now and the last 2 years cost and coverage are unsatisfactory...so much for health care reform...
Let his office work for you.  A lot of the times they can put in individual requests with your provider and win coverage.  Either way you are doing a fantastic job educating yourself and using all the options available to you inorder to resolve your AF!!!
You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers! Keep me posted.
Cheers
Angel

[Pete0629]

Angel

I did further checking on the insurance. Ohio University nor Dr Sirak are not within my insurance network. I looked on line this weekend but will still let his nusre check also. This whole insurance thing is very frustrating. My daughter broke her hand recently. I looked and made sure she went to a doctor that specialized in hand repair AND was in network before taking her to him. He fixed her up pretty good but had to put her to sleep to do it. I received a bill from her anestegiologist for $ 300.00, because they were not in network. I suppose I'm going to have to take a list into surgey with me and interview everyone in the room before I go under. Cast out the ones that are not in network and wait til we can find ones that are in! The company I work for used to have Blue Cross 1-1/2 years ago but switched to United Health care because of costs. I never had any trouble with Blue Cross, United is a different story, every bill, everytime.

But I have already decided I'm going to fight to get Dr Sirak in network somehow. If not I suppose I'm stuck with catheter ablation.

Thanks again for all your input Angel. I will definatley keep everyone updated.

Pete

[Angel_001]

Hi Pete!
Great!  Surgical ablation just gives you another option to cure your AF.  Not many people know about it.  But it seems to get good results. From what I understand Dr Sirak is very accessable to his patients.  Which is unusual for any non-GP doc. And he has really pioneered this procedure to perfection - which adds to the validity of his good results.  I believe he does the most surgical ablations in the contry. Patients come from all over.
I understand your insurance concerns.  However, insurance comapanies are seeing that the surgical option is less costly than 2-3 cath ablations.  Which means less hospitalization and less cumlative costs to insurance companies.  Keep appealing to the company - which establishes need and leads to coverage.  I believe there must be someone in his office that can help you with that.  
Gods speed and best of luck!  Please keep us updated!  I would love to hear about your results.
Cheers :)

[Pete0629]

Angel

Well I took your advise and look at the website your suggested. After reading and rereading what the 5 box Thoracoscopic Maze procedure was I sent an e-mail to Dr John Sirak for a consult. Amazingly he actually called me and talked to me about the pros and cons of cathater ablation vs the 5 box system. I also thought of another question after we had spoke and e-mailed it to him, expecting to maybe get an answer next week, he answered me within a half hour.My only concern now is it seems he has only done about 85 of this orocedure, although from what I could understand from him, bad cell phone connection, he has done over 300 maze procedures. His nurse is goin g to call me next week to start the process of seeing if they are in my insurance network. That's another sore issue I have after discovering I had afib 1-1/2 years ago. You have to be very focused on who's in your network and watch to make sure they pay what they say they are going to pay----what a pain! Anyway I digress, now I'm a little more leary of the ablation because of it's lower true success rates and the added risks of actually going inside the heart to attempt a fix of the afib.
I truly do appreciate your input in all of this, it has helped me a lot.

I guess you have earned your title---Angel.

Pete

[Angel_001]

Hi Annie!
No - I've worked in and around heart procedures for 14 years.  I have serveral relatives that do the same - one is a retired vasclar surgeon.  So it runs in my blood so to speak ;).  But my friend had the procedure there and is really a BIG believer.  She's only 4 years out though - hopefully she will continue with good long term results. I don't think there is such a thing as "CURE" for AF b/c there are so many active substrates.  But at least this is an option - and most people don't know about it.  EP's and Cardiologists don't tell their patients about it. I think they should at the very least give them the option. I do know that Dr Sirak is published in several CT journals.  Another surgeon out of Dallas (plano heart hospital) has similar results and has a very well respected CT surgeon, Dr James Edgerton.  
As with every procedure it is not wilout risk. However, patient with symptomatic AF are miserable and cannot enjoy the quality of those in NSR. It seems to give better acute and long term resut than 2-3 cath ablations. The surgical maze prodedure is also an ablation - although epicardial vs endocardial - with similar EP testing thresholds as catheter ablation. As I learned, it is important that if you get a surgical option for AF that your surgeon does a full-maze procedure.  It yeilds a better result than "partial- maze".  They also take off the left atrial appendage (LAA) which is a source of clot formation and can lead to strokes.  They can not do that in the cath lab either. There is also another website: stopafib.org (I think) that is helpful if you are interested in a surgical option.  Surgical option certinaly isn't for everyone - it is an option though.
Cheers