S/P PVAI Dec 2008

[scottbushey]

I am 50 years old; Nursing is my specialty; I was dx w/ Paroxysmal A-Fib when I was 23 years old; in the last 27 years I ahve been in the ER a dozen or so times. Hospitalized 6 times. Converted to NSR within 48 hours and dc'd to home-generally on Atenolol or Sectral. Had a PVAI in Dec 2008. No SVT. The MD at CCF Florida abalted 75 spots. For the first 2 weeks after ablation I felt great. 2.5 months out I feel exactly the way I did pre ablation-lots of extra beats. Usually about one every 30 seconds or so. No afib that I can tell-I know how the afib feels.

I am becoming depressed as I feel no better. Went to see my EP last week and he is already speaking about a touch up. He placed me on a 24/7 event monitor for the next 30 days.

Am I stuck w/ this condition? If I knew I was going to walk away from a 4.5 hr procedure under general anesthesia with this outcome I would have opted for the more invasive Maze procedure. At this point, I don't care if they cut me open. Possibly an exorcism???

Comments?

[Sweetwaterguy]

    I had an ablation at age 63 and am fortunate that my a fib was resolved.  However, my doctor advised me berore the procedure that a fair percentage of patients require a follow up ablation to get it right.  When he told me of the high cure rate with ablation, he also indicated that cure percentage included those who had follow up treatments.
   Of course it is discouraging to not have an acceptable outcome.  But a second less invasive try might very well produce the result you expect.  

[Jerry_NJ]

Sorry to read of the ongoing problems, HANG-IN-THERE.

I too suffer from AFib, but to my great fortune the onset of AFib came much later in life that was your case...and my symptoms are "mild", mostly a lack of strength, SOB, that sort of thing.

I am not sure what your symptoms are, but I'd say a maze procedure, unless there is a newer robotic method, would not be undertaken (should not be) unless you are suffering severe symptoms.  Mine, again for reference only, are mild enough my EP doesn't recommend an ablation for me.  He has recommended some medications I haven't tried, they seem too strong/risky to me.

To the Maze, I had open heart surgery in November 2007 to correct a leaky mitral valve, likely the cause of my atrial enlargement and the onset of AFib.  While "in there" there did a Maze (I've learned subsequently from my cardiologist, it was likely a mini-maze) and while I was in NSR out of surgery and stayed that way for 30 days, I went back into AFib and remain so today.  I am thinking I may be willing to try a Class IC medication
Flecainide acetate - have you tired it or something stornger?

To the point, I now also understand the maze is a very time consuming procedure and thus the "mini" maze is normally done... and its odds of success are less than the "full" maze.  I tell you this for whatever you can make use of..again I don't see open heart surgery as a reasonable path to follow, it has something in the range of 3%+ chance of complications, some part of which is death.  This is not "our father's" minor operation.

I will say my recovery, which included 5 days in intensive care in a very loving and caring hospital, was uneventful, lucky me again, i.e., lucky considering I still have AFib.

If you are not on an anticoagulant and you don't have medical advice not to do so, I recommend you take an aspirin a day.