Atrial Fibrilation Ablation

[iowa_wildcat]

I am 76 & have probably had aFib for 30 years. I have been shocked twice. I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Rasmussen at Mary Greeley. He has me on sotalol. I feel pressure in my upper chest when having the flutters. When I feel myself out of whack, I sit or lie down and do deep breathing. Usually my heart will go back in rhythm within a couple of minutes. The one time it did not go back in rhythm soon I already had the pre-shock IV in my arm and voila, the seas went down to gentle waves. Happily, I was sent home!

 

[CloniesForLife]

My company makes ablation devices for this. Uses pulse field ablation (essentially electrical pulses) to do the procedure. It is safer and quicker recovery than other ablation techniques because the procedure is quicker and can be more targeted to the correct type of tissue vs other techniques.

 

[Ms3r4ISU]

You can tell the median age of CF is getting older.

Speak for yourself. I am ageless.

 

[19210]

I had one done back in 1995 and didn't have any issues. There have been a few 'phantom episodes,' although I'm not sure how they determined that. That's what they said back then.

My son was 5 years old, and they did the freeze ablation on him. He is 19 now, and no issues. Mine was zapped or fried, whatever they used back in the day.

Recovery was easy; you can't lift too much, as you don't want to reopen the entry holes of the vein they used to access. Other than that, if you are in the office, you could be back the next day or two.

 

[MeanDean]

I am 76 & have probably had aFib for 30 years. I have been shocked twice. I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Rasmussen at Mary Greeley. He has me on sotalol. I feel pressure in my upper chest when having the flutters. When I feel myself out of whack, I sit or lie down and do deep breathing. Usually my heart will go back in rhythm within a couple of minutes. The one time it did not go back in rhythm soon I already had the pre-shock IV in my arm and voila, the seas went down to gentle waves. Happily, I was sent home!

This sounds more like mine. One afternoon trying to nap, just felt hyped up/wrong. Decided to check blood pressure and it was fine, but my heart rate was 156. Went to ER and they injected the stuff and it went right down. That was about 3 years ago.

When I have an event I get chest pressure and feel tired. Have to sit and rest a lot. I check my pulse and it's out of rhythm.

Never got anything done. Cardiologist just said continue Metroprolol 50 mg every morning. Take another if I have an event and want to knock it out.

New cardiologist, when he found I have an event every 6-8 weeks that last for 24-48 hours, upped my dosage to 50 mg TWICE per day. Only had one very short (4 hours) episode since last spring.

Nurse at my primary told me to try two things if you are out.

1. Sit on toilet and try to crap.
Or
2. Splash cold water on your face.

I've never heard either of those, but will try it out the next time.

 

[iowa_wildcat]

I will second the cold water.

 

[cyhobby]

My wife has been going through some Afib issues over the last couple years and it seems to come in spurts. She eliminated caffeine even though it was really only one cold brew a day and it has seemed to calm down for the most part. Only a couple spells over the last 6 months or so. Doctors haven't had much direction for her even with her watch data to back everything up. It also kick started a real workout routine which probably helps as well.

Lost a 34 year old BIL last year (almost to the day) due to heart issues. He even had a regular cardiologist after they found some abnormalities and did surgery a couple years prior.

Just a general PSA that even in your 30s, it's not something to **** around with.

To reply back to my previous post, what my wife had was covergence. a 2 part procedure on inside and outside of heart.

 

[cyhobby]

To reply back to my previous post, what my wife had was covergence. a 2 part procedure on inside and outside of heart.