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Is 81 year old too old for ablation?

Posted by fdixon63 @fdixon63, 6 days ago

I'm an 81 year old female who had an ablation 11 years ago. Now having problems with being out of rhythm. I am on 200 mg of Amiodorone daily. It helps sometimes but not always. Are there others who are in similar situation--perhaps that did get an ablation? What was your experience following this procedure? Thanks.

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fdixon63 | @fdixon63 | 18 hours ago
In reply to @larryg333 "Don't think 81 is the issue. It's our status... if the meds don't work for whatever..." + (show)
Profile picture for larryg333 @larryg333

Don't think 81 is the issue. It's our status... if the meds don't work for whatever reason, life is miserable, and we're otherwise healthy and can tolerate the typical surgical burden, and we have a really competent doc on board whose done thousands of these procedures, then we can give it a shot.

But remember: these are not always successful, quite often they're not successful... even after several, and sometimes things go bad while you're on the table, or complications arise which can be serious... and in a few cases even deadly. That's why we're asked to sign the consent form.

As long as I remain in the consistent excellent physical status I'm in (per my EP and GP), functional, without issues, without compromising my general health, continue to tolerate the only med I'm on (Apixaban), able to do basically anything I want to do (exercise, work around the house, etc), I'm choosing to not roll the dice. We're all experiments of one.

All the best!

/LarryG

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@larryg333 - Thanks for your input. Do your episodes come and go or are you constantly out of rhythm?

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cdk43 | @cdk43 | 13 hours ago
In reply to @cdk43 "Am 83 yrs old and just had my 3rd ablation yesterday. Never too old if doc..." + (show)
Profile picture for cdk43 @cdk43

Am 83 yrs old and just had my 3rd ablation yesterday. Never too old if doc agrees. Each time I get better and they make improvements

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@cdk43 my first ablation was not a good experience having been done in a regional hospital and with limited experience of what to expect. If there's one piece of advise I would give, and is reinforced on this site, do your research and, if possible, choose a major teaching facility or clinic (Mayo, Cleveland, Weill Cornell, etc) for the procedure. A well seasoned EP who does ablations multiple times a week, a necessity. If it means taking a plane or train, do it. I was fortunate to have my second ablation done by a reknown EP in New York city, 2 yrs ago, who cleaned up 'a mess' and gave me my life back, although not petfect. And 2 days ago he went back to do a touch up. I believe the third time is the charm for me since for the first time in 4 years my heart feels perfectly normal.
We are all different as patients but experienced EPs are all the same. If possible, settle for nothing less.
As for age, I'm 83 and if I was told in x yrs, I needed another touch up, I'd be all in. Especially as the technology is so rapidly advancing. Good luck

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