Afib ablation

I am a 71-year old female with a history of very symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. I have had three cardiac ablations. The first ablation did nothing for me and I continued to have subsequent hospitalizations due to recurrent a-fib episodes. Four years later I had my second ablation. I had much better success with it and remained largely episode-free for almost five years. At that point I experienced several episodes of symptomatic a-fib and was referred for a third ablation. I underwent my third ablation in July of 2018 and have since experienced only a few brief episodes of supraventricular tachycardia. With the second and third ablations, the only effects I noticed were some tenderness in the groin and some fatigue. I was back to my normal activities within a few days of having the ablations. All three of my ablations have lasted more than six hours due to the extent of burns required; from what I understand, that is longer than the procedure is normally. I admit that initially the idea of having the ablation was anxiety-provoking, but the subsequent freedom from the a-fib episodes has certainly made the process worthwhile. I was started on dofetilide following the third ablation but was able to discontinue that in January and am now just on diltiazem once a day with the hope that I will in time be able to discontinue it as well. I am on Coumadin and will probably be on that the rest of my life as I also have coils and stent in an aneurysm in my brain. I do the INR testing at home, which makes coping with the Coumadin easier. Hope this is helpful to anyone facing the thought of having an ablation performed.

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Hi @sistertwo,

I moved your message to this ongoing discussion as I thought it would be beneficial for you to meet other members who are discussing Afib and ablation.
If you click on VIEW & REPLY in your email notification, you will see the whole discussion and can join in, meet, and participate with other members talking about their or their loved ones' experiences.

The axis of the ECG is the major direction of the overall electrical activity of the heart. Here’s some information that might help you to understand the ECG better: https://www.healio.com/cardiology/learn-the-heart/ecg-review/ecg-interpretation-tutorial/determining-axis

May I ask if your husband’s cardiologist has offered an explanation?

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