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@elegantgem

You really haven't given us much information such as what is your heart rate currently. Also, the 3 ablations must have been over a long period of time. I have had one ablation and my afib did not go away. After about 3 months in sinus rhythm my heart rate was high again. However, my electrophysiologist told me I could not have a second ablation right away. My afib prevented me from living a normal lifestyle. He did put me on multaq 400mg. I haven't been in afib since starting this medication. It has been a life saver for me. But the cost of multaq is very high. Last month I paid $835.00 for a 3-month supply of multaq. For me that is a lot of money. I also have other issues with multaq. One of the symptoms is a rash and although I don't get the rash all the time it is a problem for me. I have been using cortizone and it has helped. I am hoping my doctor will allow me to have another ablation but I will not go against his advice. Let us know how you are doing.

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Replies to "You really haven't given us much information such as what is your heart rate currently. Also,..."

You sound like me in a way. Back in 1996, I had a stress test and then an emergency CT scan. After the scan, the cardiologist came and said I have bad news, you’re going to die in your sleep. Nothing like giving bad news to a patient. He explained how it would happen and why. It seems I was born with a heart birth defect that would turn out to be a 1 in a million occurrence and was part of Wolff, Parkinson, White Syndrome. I had two bouts of Pulseless Ventricular Tachycardia with heart rates documented of 197bpm & 164bpm. Zip forward to 2021, I’m having more serious symptoms of WPW, spontaneous blackouts. No warning signs, just one second you’re standing up, the next second you’re on the floor or ground. I didn't realize that episodes like that had been happening to me since I was 10yo. Some could have killed me because of what I was doing when the blackout happened. Turns out its a heart rhythm problem and the birth defect I have, that 1 in a million defect is a short circuit between the SA node and the AV node. When a heartbeat pulse jumps into the short circuit it just keeps going around and around in the loop of rogue heart cells, causing the right ventricle to contract and going so fast, it’s only pumping a small amount of blood before the next command makes it contract. That’s just part of the problem because you see, the regular pathway from the SA node is also working and sending its own command to the right ventricle to contact. When I finally got an appointment to an Electrophysiologist, the top man in the department, he was so interested in my case, he saw me during his lunch break. The thing that convinced him to accept me as his patient, was the spontaneous blackouts. It’s so unusual, he talked me into having an expensive loop heart recorder implanted under my left breast. The cause, of the blackouts is the short circuit rogue heart cells causing the loop. An ablation would not work to solve the problem, every individual rogue heart cell must be destroyed, one heart cell at a time in a rare procedure. The procedure could take up to 10 hours and since any movement could be disastrous, I must be strapped down onto the operating table unconscious. But first, every rogue heart cell must be mapped out, that’s where the loop heart recorder that was implanted comes in. It monitors my heart 24/7 by a company out in Oregon who then informs my doctor daily. It’s like waiting for a bomb to explode. Once the next blackout occurs, the recorder will be able to map out the short circuit. It’s a special recorder for just that purpose and cost about $75,000. Once the blackout happens, it’s a go for the procedure because the PVT and accompanying A-fib will trigger a fatal heart attack in about 15 minutes, in my sleep, just like that cardiologist predicted back in 1996. I woke up twice from the PVT and was able to get immediate help. Who knows, maybe you have a birth defect and that’s why your ablation wasn’t successful. Just like me, he has to destroy every heart cell or it could trigger another short circuit. Good luck on your heart problems.