Afib, dextro cardia, ablation - can it be done and where

Hi there. I can only speak for myself. As soon as I read about catheter ablations, I wanted one. The previous week would have been great.

If you are asymptomatic, you are way ahead of a great many of us who know immediately when we enter AF. It can be awful and unsettling. For some really unfortunate people, theirs comes one when they recline in bed at night. Imagine trying to fall asleep like that. In my case, I was symptomatic during the episodes, but they never took place at night to my knowledge. But the daytime experience was enough to make we want anything that could rid me of the symptoms. That's point one. Point two was that I did a LOT OF reading and learned that when the heart gets electrically disordered, it usually progresses from paroxysmal episodes (they come and go on their own) to persistent, and then to permanent. This can be in a few weeks or a few years, with me being the latter type. As my episodes became more frequent, I began to get snarky about being referred to an electrophysiologist, and thank the Good Lord I got a good one.

AF won't kill you, at least not soon. It can make your life awful, though, if just due to anxiety. So, I couldn't wait to get an ablation once I knew what was involved, why the heart fibrillates, and how ablations work to stop the electrical signals from entering the left atrium in more than one location. ...which is why the atrium fibrillates.

You have a complication with situs inversus of the heart. It means your heart is oriented unusually in your chest. I am insufficiently informed to comment on this, but I would really want to understand why your cardiologist has ruled out an ablation...if I read your post correctly. And I would then seek a second, and even a third opinion. In fact, I would suggest you consult with either Dr. Andrea Natale at the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute in Austin (you can google him) or with Dr. Pasquale Santangeli at the Cleveland Clinic. They're both at the tops of their EP fields. Your aim is to finally accept that you indeed are not a candidate for ablation, even a simple pulmonary vein isolation ablation, or learn that something more complicated that a real crackerjack EP would be happy to do for you is possible if you can wait in line for four or five months (if that long).

Hi, I really appreciate your answering my post and quite adequately. Lots of good advice, which I'm sure I'll follow through on most of.
I'll keep posting as my journey progresses.
Thank you

Hi there. I can only speak for myself. As soon as I read about catheter ablations, I wanted one. The previous week would have been great.

If you are asymptomatic, you are way ahead of a great many of us who know immediately when we enter AF. It can be awful and unsettling. For some really unfortunate people, theirs comes one when they recline in bed at night. Imagine trying to fall asleep like that. In my case, I was symptomatic during the episodes, but they never took place at night to my knowledge. But the daytime experience was enough to make we want anything that could rid me of the symptoms. That's point one. Point two was that I did a LOT OF reading and learned that when the heart gets electrically disordered, it usually progresses from paroxysmal episodes (they come and go on their own) to persistent, and then to permanent. This can be in a few weeks or a few years, with me being the latter type. As my episodes became more frequent, I began to get snarky about being referred to an electrophysiologist, and thank the Good Lord I got a good one.

AF won't kill you, at least not soon. It can make your life awful, though, if just due to anxiety. So, I couldn't wait to get an ablation once I knew what was involved, why the heart fibrillates, and how ablations work to stop the electrical signals from entering the left atrium in more than one location. ...which is why the atrium fibrillates.

You have a complication with situs inversus of the heart. It means your heart is oriented unusually in your chest. I am insufficiently informed to comment on this, but I would really want to understand why your cardiologist has ruled out an ablation...if I read your post correctly. And I would then seek a second, and even a third opinion. In fact, I would suggest you consult with either Dr. Andrea Natale at the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute in Austin (you can google him) or with Dr. Pasquale Santangeli at the Cleveland Clinic. They're both at the tops of their EP fields. Your aim is to finally accept that you indeed are not a candidate for ablation, even a simple pulmonary vein isolation ablation, or learn that something more complicated that a real crackerjack EP would be happy to do for you is possible if you can wait in line for four or five months (if that long).

Your story is like mine. Getting an ablation, but from the 'right' electrophysiologist, is 75% certain to have you back in NSR for a long time, maybe permanently. If it turns out you need a 'touchup' or a redo, the probability of success rises to 80%. Good luck.

Hi! I live in Canada and have had AFib since 2016. I have been under the care of a cardiologist and have had more frequent episodes of fibrillation. I have been booked for a catheter ablation but because of our lousy healthcare system I have to wait for a date for three to six months. Apparently it’s due to lack of gov’t funding. I am 78 and the prognosis is good since I’m healthy other than the AFib. The palpitations are becoming more frequent so I will be glad to get the surgery done.

Sorry to hear it's going to take so long for an appointment. Hopefully sooner than later. You're not the first I've heard from regarding the time lag in Canadian appointment scheduling. Whenever it happens, wishing you luck for a successful ablation that lasts permanently. Please keep us updated. 😁