Is 81 year old too old for ablation?

@stan52 - Hope your ablation goes well. Mine has now been scheduled for Sept. 9th. Prayers for us both.

Mines 9-8. Praying for you as well.

@gloaming
Thank you for the detailed explanation. I am having my first ablation for PVCs on September 29th and I'm nervous! It will be done at Mayo Clinic, so I trust the doctor, but I'm still scared. I'm almost 78 years old and managed to escape anything like this so far. But, I'll give it a go and hope for the best!

@jennyjamescharlotte Good luck. By early January you'll have your three-month assessment after the 'blanking period' where you'll wear a Holter monitor, something like it, for about a day. Days later you'll learn if your heart is happily in normal sinus. By Valentine's Day, it will hopefully all be a thing of the past for you.

@gloaming
Thank you! I appreciate the additional info as well as the kind thoughts.

Just had my first ablation …. Pulse field energy one on Aug 11. This type is the latest type and is more cardiac tissue specific avoiding damage to other structures like the esophagus. So less risky. They went up the right groin and into right atrium, needle or radio frequency melt a hole through septum and into left atrium where they scarred area around each pulmonary vein 8 X creating a total of 32 scars to block electron pathways. They put me under fully and ended the procedure with a cardioversion. I didn’t feel a thing. After you must lie still in your back for 3 hours. Then 7 days of no sport, no lifting more than 10 lbs, light walking only. Yesterday I went out on my light ebike on a flat trail for 17 km. Normally, I cycle 45-60 km at a time, but it takes 2-3 months for the heart scarring to fully heal. You can expect so tachycardia, palpitations and other blips during that period and this is to be expected. For me it was a big psychological lift and I’m not breathless climbing my stairs at home. I’m feeling good and like normal again. The other ablation types are radio frequency… heat and cryo…. Cold. I had a well respected electrophysiologist and was really lucky to get bumped up on the one year wait list. If you are in persistent a fib your chances are better if you’ve only had it for less than a year and if your left atrium is not dilated or not too much. The cardiologist told me there is only a 50% success rate. I’m praying it holds. I fear when I reengage in my activity, it may not but at least now I’m being followed by someone who knows what she’s doing. I wish you all the best.

@jennyjamescharlotte hello I’m in Charlotte as well. Did you use Sanger for your ablation. I was diagnosed with A Flutter and am having the procedure on 9-8. Were you happy with outcome and were you able to return to your previous strenuous activities. I swim regularly and really miss that. Due to aderone also known as Pacer One it suppressed my HR too much so I’ve been off it 9 days. The bothersome side effects are now gone. Anyway any feedback is appreciated as I’ve never had any surgery done. Thanks.

@activegal - Thanks for sharing your experience. Were you able to elevate your head at all during recovery? I have lung problems and laying flat can trigger coughing.

@fdixon63 The recovery people will do their best to keep you as comfortable as possible so that you won't feel inclined to improve your circumstances by shifting, lifting, turning, writhing, etc. The goal is to immobilize your torso and leg so that the sutures don't open. Apparently those first two critical hours, or three, are so important that they pretty much command you to lie still. I don't see how they couldn't take into account your other limitations or requirements, including inclining your torso by 5 deg or more, as long as you agree, and demonstrate that you will comply, with instructions to remain supine to the extent possible for you.

I’m 76. I had an ablation last July 2025 for tachycardia. I had been cycling in Cuba under the hot sun all of April 2025 without proper hydration or consumption of electrolytes. While resting during some of these rides, my bpm reached 185. Normally my maximum bpm upon effort had been 145 bpm prior to the ablation. The medical intervention (ablation) was without issue. Afterwards the ablation, while cycling, my bpm were about 25 bpm higher than before the ablation with the same effort. That continues to this day. My maximum effort today brings me to 170 bpm, whereas before the ablation, it would have been around 145 or 150 bpm. It took a while after the ablation to feel a steadier response from my heart, but once that was gone, everything appeared normal with regard to the ablation and my heart beats.