I wish you the best of luck with your ablation procedure. I'm 81, almost 82 years old, and have pre-ablation counselling at the Rochester Mayo Clinic on 15 February. I was diagnosed with A/Fib about a year ago, and the cardioversion (at Meijer Heart Center) success lasted just four days. I'm hoping that I'm okay for the ablation, but I think my age may be an issue.

I am 75 and had an ablation two years ago. Had no trouble.

Good luck with your ablation. It’s perfectly normal to feel anxious before the procedure. I’ve had two ablations and A-fib is under control. It’s changed my life.

Please post after you recovered and let us know how you’re doing.

Cardiac Ablation Procedure Update

On Feb 13, 2024, I had a cardiac ablation done, This is how it went.

Checked in at 7 am and went to the waiting area. About 5 minutes later, the nurse came to take me to the Pre-Op/Prep room. There she had me get into one of those gowns that everyone loves to hate. I sat on the side of the bed while the nurse asked me 9000 questions and had me sign 500 more forms. Next came my blood pressure check followed by an EKG. Next she shaved the incision area. Now I get 1000 stickers put all over my side, back, and chest....wonderful. Now I get to lay back for 10 minutes waiting for the Doctor (EP) and anesthesia Doctor to show up. Next, I was taken to the Cath lab. I was met there by a very nice and friendly staff.
Once in the lab area, I was put on the op table where a nice nurse applied more very cold, very large stickers on me. Shortly after that a nurse put the oxygen mask on me and instructed me to breath normal. While this was going on, the lab staff was getting me ready...off went that nice warm blanket, up went the gown, and there I was exposed to all the people in the lab. Now, normally this would have bothered me a lot,,,,but I was mentally prepared for this and I was very comfortable. The staff kept talking to me in a very calm and reassuring manner.
Then, I was instructed to start taking deep breaths and was told they were starting the meds. Took a whole 10 seconds and I was deep in LA-LA land. Took about 2 hours to do the complete ablation.
I had a little bit of a hard times coming awake after the ablation. Was moved to a recovery room for a little over an hour. I again was blessed with a wonderful staff member who took care of me. Then it was back to the pre-op room where I had to lay flat on my back for 2 hours. At 2 pm, the nurse got me out of bed and we went for a walk. She was satisfied with how well I could walk and said, I can go home.
Now I am at home. I am feeling NO pain in the chest until around 8 pm. Throat was sore as expected. Had very little bleeding from both incision sites but not real bad. The right side hurt more than the left side. Sleep was on and off which I expected.
When I checked in for the procedure, my anxiety level was about a 5. The staff in the pre-op room really put me at ease and made me feel very good about being there. Entering the lab area, it was a 1. I can not say enough great things about the entire staff from check in to discharge. If there was a rating higher than EXCELLENT, I would give it to them.

Now, a little history here. It took me many years to agree to doing the cath. I depended on several of my medical providers that had my total trust for their support and input. I am very happy I did do this.

Again, I will rate the entire staff as excellent in every area and will recommend this staff to anyone who needs a cardiac ablation.