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There is such a thing as 'RVR' which is 'rapid ventricular response'. It isn't good having AF, but when the left ventricle contracts in the same frequency, this can be a slow recipe for disaster. The heart is a muscle, after all, and muscles to need to have periods of low activity/low demand. If you're sleeping, but still in AF, and also in RVR, the left side of your heart is getting no rest, and will eventually lead to heart failure due to enlargement of those vessels' walls.
An AV node destruction stops the rapid ventricular response (RVR), but it does not normally also stop any further AF. AF occurs because of a 'leaked' electrical impulse emitting from one or more places inside the left atrium that causes it so contract chaotically. An ablation is meant to place a 'dam', a circular dam, of many small lesions around the 'focus' or reentrant where this extra beat signal enters the left atrium. Those lesions become scar tissue, over which the electrical impulse cannot pass. No passage, no extra beats. AF stops. That's what ablation is meant to do. There is no ablation, no lesions, when doing an pacemaker implant.
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Well, you learn something new every day. I don’t know how with all the reading I’ve done on AFib, I had never read about RVR. Based on bpm, I have RVR. My recent heart monitor showed my AFib went as high as 150 although typically the high is in the 120s. My resting heart rate is mid-50s and sometimes high 40s when lying down.
Until now, I thought all AFib patients have high heart rates. Now I understand why some people have silent AFib. Before, I couldn’t understand how someone could be unaware seeing as I have so many symptoms. Hmmm.
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Hi Gloaming,
I always appreciate your input. It is obvious that you are extremely knowledgeable, even though - as you say - you are not a medical professional.
You mention RVR as being serious. I have had RVR with each episode of AFib - and I currently have RVR now. Hence, it is imperative that I stop my ventricle contractions.
However (unless I misunderstood you), I respectfully disagree with your statement that "there is no ablation, no lesions, when doing a pacemaker implant." If you are referring to just implanting the pacemaker, I - of course - agree with you. However, if you are referring to the procedure to destroy the AV node, I do not agree with you.
Ablation, by definition is a procedure doctors use to destroy abnormal tissue that can be present in many conditions. such as tumors in the lung, breast, thyroid, liver, spine, etc. Obviously, ablation is also used to destroy heart tissue that's causing irregular heartbeats.
My EP described two basic types of ablations - which he called an "AFib Ablation" or an "AV Node Ablation". The first ablation is, of course, the destruction of the many small lesions to prevent AFib. He (and another EP with whom I had a second opinion) felt that my chance of success with that ablation was very low. The other ablation is often called a "Pace and Ablate". I don't need the "pace" part because I had a pacemaker implanted 4 year ago. However, I will have the "ablate" portion, where he will ablate or destroy the Atrioventricular (AV) node, preventing the electrical heartbeat signal from my atria to my ventricles. The pacemaker will then "take over". I apologize if I misunderstood you, and your saying "there is no ablation" was only referring to a pacemaker implant, not the destruction of the AV Node. Thanks again for all your input; you have been very helpful to many of us.