Cardiac ablation for atrial fibrillation

[Jeannebsn]

My husband is 57, VERY healthy, exercises daily, doesn't eat meat, and does not drink alcohol.  He is 5'11 and 183lbs.  Five years ago he woke up in the middle of the night saying his heart was beating wierd.  I listened to his heartbeat, it sounded and felt like there was an engine inside of him.  We went to the ER and they told us he was in A-Fib.  They put him on IV medication including Heparin, but he never converted.  They then prepared him for cardioversion (shocking) and just before they gave him the iv sedation he converted.  He did not have another episode for 5 years, so he was diagnosed with "Lone A-Fib".  This year he has had at least one episode each month since March.  We went to the ER a few of the times, and others we waited for him to convert and he eventually did.  We consulted with a cardiac surgeon who specializes in ablation.  He said that one thing he could say with 99% certainty is that "He would go into A-Fib again, and that the frequency of the attacks would increase with age."  It was this statement that convinced us to go ahead with the ablation procedure, as he hates taking any medication and did not want to end up on Coumadin for the rest of his life.  As I write this we are in the hospital waiting to have the procedure done.  I am praying we made the right decision.  Any input?

[tom_h]

I had mine at UMass Medical Center in Worcester, MA by Dr. Lawrence Rosenthal.  How did your husband do today?

[Jeannebsn]

Where did you choose to have your ablation?

[tom_h]

The procedure is pretty easy to go through.  The results for A Fib unfortunately are mixed and not as successful as ablation for SVT.  He should be back in business by Saturday.  Hope it's successful!