Connect
Discussion
Comment receiving replies
Replies to "My husband’s cardiologist said sometimes you can experience a-fib in the 3 months or so after..."
Heart Rhythm Conditions | Last Active: 3 days ago | Replies (17)
Comment receiving replies
My husband’s cardiologist said sometimes you can experience a-fib in the 3 months or so after an ablation as the heart is healing. My husband went into a-fib 7 weeks after his last ablation and had cardioversion last Friday. He is back in normal rhythm now so hopefully it will last. As far as medications he was on one 200 mg amiodarone daily but now just for the 2 weeks after his ablation they increased the dose to 200 mg in the morning and 200 mg at night. Then he will go back to 200 mg in the morning only. He has been on amiodarone for many years and it is not a nice drug but fortunately no side effects so far. The advantage of a pacemaker, if/when we go that route, is that he could stop the amiodarone.
Replies to "My husband’s cardiologist said sometimes you can experience a-fib in the 3 months or so after..."
Connect
Just a comment on amiodarone. It is a very strong and potent drug. It does work.
If your doctors have not briefed you Amiodarone is and can be very toxic with many serious side affects. The medication can affect a lot of organs including your eyes.
Low doses of course have a less toxic affect than high doses. I took this medication for about 6 months after getting out of hospital where I was on a I.V. drip of it. This was due to 5 ICD shocks in 24 hours.
Regrettfully it was the ER cardilogist not my electrophysiologist who had me on it and prescribed the pills. I did not have an noticealbe side affects other than my heart rympthm had really improved.
On my own I looked up the medication and was shock to read how toxic it can be. I want to emphasize the medication does work and for many is a life safer and is worth the risk of toxic side affects. But everyone should know the side affects.
My EP (Mayo) agreed to weed me off it. It took several months to lesson the dose each week. I then had to have blood test and a special eye test every year looking for amiodarone side affects on my organs and especially my eyes.
This year at my yearly eye exam my optamololigist said my eye test did not reveal any damage from the amiodarone and after 10 years of being off it I no longer had to come in each year for testing.
My ICD/Pacemaker paces my heart at 70 bpm. I did have to go on a medication called mexiltine to help with tachacardia and PVCs. That medication is low toxicity and has to be taken every 8 hours as leaves the body really fast. It did help reducing my PVCs in half and have not had a tachacardial episode since been on it.
Ablation do work but don't mean won't have PACs, PVCs, from same area. I had a ablation done on RV and it stopped the PVCs and has worked for over 6 years. My LV has 3 different areas causing PVCs. My EP wants to try medication first (the Mexilitine spell) and it worked.
I would not hesitate if in ER and having life threatening arryimias to be put on Amiodarone. It does work but with that working has a very high toxicity rate with high doses.