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Has anyone with a pacemaker had an ablation for AFib?
Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: 3 days ago | Replies (2)Comment receiving replies
I was not present when your EP described the 'simple ablation' procedure, but it sounds to me, as uneducated as I am about medical stuff, that he means an AV node ablation. If he says that you won't be so symptomatic, I can only conclude that you'll still have the AF, and the pacemaker probably won't be able to control it, but by nuking the AV node they'll control the RVR a lot better and you won't feel breathless and so anxious. Once again, this is what I THINK he means, but really you ought to put the question to the physician.
Here is what I found, if you haven't seen it:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/23013-av-node-ablation
https://a-fib.com/treatments-for-atrial-fibrillation/av-node-with-pacemaker/
If you know for a fact that your AV node was destroyed during your pacemaker implantation, then what I have offered is of no value...sorry.
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Gloaming - thank you so much for the explanation. Yes, he did mention AV node ablation. He was the EP who implanted my pacemaker, so I am sure he knows whether or not it was destroyed! I very much appreciated reading the Cleveland Clinic article. I obviously meet the criteria for an AV Node Ablation. My EP is hard to get an appointment with; generally, I am shuffled to a PA or NP. However, my nephrologist intervened, and I have an appointment with him in April to discuss all options. Before I read the article you referenced, my reading indicated that an AV Node Ablation was not used much anymore - that a complex ablation was preferred. I, of course, do expect to be dependent on the pacemaker for the rest of my life. Thanks again.