how can continued arrythmia hurrt me?

[large1]

I  was first diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and put on Sotalol for 2 years, had 2 cardioversions before cardiologist refused to do any  more &  turned me over to a  surgeon for an ablation.  Surgeon told me ablation was the absolute cure and that I would never have any more problems. Worked for about 4 years ,but two weeks ago my  heart started jumping around again.  I don't have health insurance and really hate to have  to go through with all this mess again.  I don't feel too bad except for some shortness of breath when I really exert myself. My question is , does anybody know if leaving this untreated will cause damage? I'll be eligible for Medicare in two years, but am wondering if I'll be doing myself irreparable   damage  by waiting that long to seek treatment.

[cindy707]

Hi i read your post and Jerry is right on track w. the asp. a day but like he says you have to clear it w. your doc first.  So this puts you in the age group of upper 50;s or low 60's w. your Medicare statement.  I myself am 56 and had an ablation for a fib 3 years ago.  I think ultimately the answer lies w. you and whether or not you want to continue this game of Russian Roulette w. your life.  You need to ask yourself what is your life worth....probably alot more than the expense of an ablation.  I think you are in a very precarious situation here.  Sort of damned if you do and damned if you don't  Long term could there be problems?  Most definately yes if you wait especially if you do throw a clot which is your highest risk factor as well as your blood pressure zooming out of control as it does with a fib once it starts.  I personally think that this is a very personal decision but i know for myself and having had to deal w. a fib among other things that i did make the choice to wait while i did my research to find the best doc possible on the west coast and about did myself in waiting.  The episodes became more and more frequent and the last one i had before the ablation my heart rate went into the 300's definately not a good thing.  So i did the ablation and six months after i was the girl i used to be before the problems reared their ugly head out of no where and without warning.  To this day i still take an aspirin a day as well as a lite dose of antenolol for added insurance for myself because i never ever want to relive the way i felt that nite when i woke up out of a dead sleep w. a pulse rate that high. Talk about knowing you aren't going to make it....i wrote the book that nite and had the procedure less than a week later.  The only thing that i can tell you is that basically you are in sort of a crap shoot.....you may be fine you may not....i would think that the earmark for you would be if the episodes are getting progressive and more violent w/in your body that you already have your answer.  This is a decision that unfortunately you will have to make for yourself that could mean life or death....talk in depth to your doc Large1 and ask him/her if it were their parent, mate, child , whatever would would your doc tell them to do.......good luck and keep us all posted my friend.

[Jerry_NJ]

Studies have shown that for those of us with AFib the key to survival is reduction of clot formation (INR between 2 and 3) and rate control.  In the study those who were converted to normal sinus rhythm verse those who were not showed a slightly lower longevity.  

I think this group was not compared to another group with perfectly healthy hearts.  I also think there was no attempt do segregate by age, but in general AFib is more likely for us all as our age goes up.  

A simple anticoagulant is aspirin, but even that should be discussed at least with your primary care doctor... and you may know how your stomach reacts to a regular aspirin consumption.  The new market for low dose aspirin (high priced baby aspirin) has been driven by its application in heart treatment.  

I take 5 mg of Warfarin (Coumadin) a day and generally run in the control INR range.  I also take a beta blocker to lower my (ventricle) heart rate.  I would run around 130 bpm without a beta blocker.  

While you are thinking about it, consider taking an aspirin each day with a meal... I take mine with breakfast every morning.

[Russ90]

I was wondering the same thing. When I first had the problem and spoke with my cardiologist (not an EP) 3 years ago he said it would increase my risk for stroke but that is about it. I have a mild form of Afib that would require cardioversion once a year. Then he said if I was on blood thinners it would lessen the stroke risk to not much higher than the rest of the population without Afib. I asked if my Afib would shorten my life expectancy and he said no.

Is he correct? I dont know. I have also read that if you let it go untreated it may be much harder to correct later if not at all. I think treatments for this problem are still too new for medical science to know or they dont know enough about it yet.

I had an ablation and it hasnt made much of a difference for me but it may be too early to tell. It may have been better to leave it alone for me since my Afib was more of a nuisance than a debilitating experience.