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Had the ablation for pvcs x 2, second time it worked 100%
Like many of you, I suffered with a 15% PVC burden that came on quite quickly in July and was quite symptomatic. Told its ok by my cardiologist(not an ep), you can live with it, won't kill you, but at 15% (15000 pcvs a day) I wasn't getting full blood flow and was very tired nearly every afternoon, needing a nap. Felt much older than my 62 years,as I'm an active guy.
Tried the meds, flecanide, ditilizem, and ALL the supplements, mag, coq-10, etc. Flex was very bad for me, dil didn't work, etc
Heart calm helped but only temporarily. Sought out an ep cardiologist and got an ablation in august after being in the ER in July for near blackouts and strong chest thumping (yea, its concerning) ..it didn't work as the spot needing to be burned was too risky, so they stopped the procedure. .Long story short, I sought out who was recognized as "one of the best" EP Cardiologists in the country and found him at Vanderbilt Cardiology - Dr Stevenson. He's a specialist in complex ventricular arrhythmias, and other ep docs send difficult cases to him. Long story short, I got the ablation a couple weeks ago, woke up with 0 pvcs and haven't had ANY since-hopefully it stay that way. For anyone on the fence, don't suffer, get it done- I have my NORMAL life back...
Best,
Nash23
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I am being treated at Mayo Phx for my PVC"S- which doctor did the surgery? Currently I mostly see the PA. Good to know Mayo did a good job.
That’s great Nash. I’m so pleased for you.
Like you and others, I suffer from PVCs but they are multi focal and I have been told after 2 attempted ablations, due to the multiple sites there is not much more that can be done. Like you and others, I have tried various medications but no good outcomes. If anyone has any experience of multi focal pvcs I would welcome any feedback.
All the very best Nash.
Sorry to hear that. Are you convinced you have engaged with a top PVC expert and institution?
Hi Nash
From what I have read ablations are usually only possible and successful where there is one site where the PVCs originate. Although the burden is low for me I am very sensitive and they are very tiresome and frustrating and affect me greatly. I hope someone on this forum can provide advice on how they maybe dealing with multifocal PVCs. I am so happy for you that you are feeling better Nash.
If your Afib is 'controlled' by medication should you still want to 'cure' it by an ablation procedure. I am mostly concerned about the risk of a stroke. Also, how exactly does medication control Afib? I understand the need for blood thinners, but what do Diltiazem and Digoxin do?
Do these medications simply keep your pulse rate at an average of 75 beats per minute while it still is erratic and potentially forming clots? I notice with a pulsimeter that the BPM fluctuate a great deal although within a range of 60 to 90. Finally, is an Ablation procedure covered by medicare? I am also 71 in general good health but concerned that even controlled Afib will shorten my time on earth.
CDK43, it is very common, and I mean about 75% of the time, that a patient undergoing CA is in AF or flutter while the procedure gets underway. This is actually not a hindrance, and if the heart is in NSR during the procedure, the EP will 'challenge' the heart when he/she thinks that the isolation is complete to see if he/she is right. They will inject you with isoproterenol to stimulate the heart and make it go into AF if it CAN GO into AF. Then, they inject you with adenosine to slow the heart and see what the rhythm looks like on the scope to find hidden flutter. They won't release you from the surgery until they firmly establish that your spurious signals are truly isolated. Note that this doesn't mean the CA won't fail...they do. Happened to me and many thousands of others. After a few months, you should be offered another attempt, and the second CA's run about 80% success. One thing each reader needs to accept is that AF won't kill you. If left uncontrolled for a long time, yes, the heart will weaken and will 'remodel' itself to make treatment extremely difficult. But over several months of flutter or AF, you aren't likely to suffer irreversible harm. Also, there is empirical evidence that the atrium will 'revert' back to its original condition prior to the development of AF. Not fully, but mostly, or largely, and this is a hopeful thing that a corrected rhythm is the best you should hope for.
thankyou , for this as it helped me not to get a pacemaker because i would go into bracardia when i took my meds. i did not get blackouts but my dip toomuch when i slept noticed only by the heart monitor but my afib is active iwill get an ablation
There is a whole chapter in the book, "The AFIB Cure..." devoted to cardiac ablation and why the authors, two widely known Electrophysiologists, recommend the procedure earlier rather than later as is now the standard of care. I have had worsening AFIB for almost eight years now and I am ready. I took the book with me to my consult with my EP at Mayo and she recognized one of the authors and reviewed the key questions the book recommended I ask of her. This will be my first shot at the procedure so they are planning Isolation of the Pulmonary veins only. Everyone with AFIB should read the book, available on Amazon or anywhere I think.
Thanks for this information. I will get the book before my next visit to my cardiologist.
I had asked him about him about it a year ago and told that it was not for me maybe because I have had Afib for 15 years. I don't know if it is related but I seem to be very sensitive to cold weather. It may be because my metabolic rate is slowing with age but I wonder if my Afib and a less efficient heart may have something to do with it. Stopped taking Metoprolol as this slowed my heart rate too much, but still on Diltiazem, Digoxin and Xarelto.
Thank u for this. Most helpful. Did i understand correctly that u are afib free after CA? And if so for how long?