Ablation/Vein Of Marshall/Convergent +

[SwayzeCrazy7777_]

I have been fighting persistent Afib, Aflutter. For the past 4 years I have had 3 failed ablations. A failed Vein Of Marshall and just had a failed convergent /Hybrid surgery..I do have a pacemaker and a Watchman and still had a stroke ( no residual effects ) after the Watchman.. I have also been converted 11 times.. Needless to say I am very frustrated..

I will be meeting with my Surgeon/ Cardiologist and EP and was just wondering if anyone had suggestions on anything else we could try.. My Cardiac Team does not want to do the AV Node because I will be 100% pacemaker dependent.. just looking for suggestions. Many Thanks In Advance..

[Rambler398]

What is your dominant dysrthythmia at present? What are the dimensions of your atria? How much left atrial fibrosis was evident at your most recent ablation?

Will the law of diminishing returns predict less chance of success with any further procedures other than AV node ablation?

Does your history of stroke increase the probability of a further stroke (are you taking an anticoagulant?)

These are questions I would be asking of your medical team.

To be clear, I am not a health care professional.

[SwayzeCrazy7777_ in reply to Rambler398]

If I understand your questions correctly my current Heart Rate is 120-128 and resting it’s 95-108… my left atrial appendage ejection fraction is 40-45.. My Blood Pressure average is 88/42 but after drinking Orange Juice it is 101/58.

Yes I am on Eliquis, Warfarin and a Baby Aspirin.. along with metoprolol, digoxin, and amiodarone and Multaq.. I am a week out of surgery and was still in Afib when they closed up.. They cardioverted me this past Monday since the Convergent was not successful.. After cardioversion I was in NSR for only 38 hours.. My stroke risk is at a higher percentage since the watchman did not catch it and my TEE did show it was correctly in place and attached.. I am wondering if this could just be POAF. Thank you so much for responding..

[Rambler398 in reply to SwayzeCrazy7777_]

My main point was that the success of further intervention, other than AV node ablation, is presumably related to the extent of existing fibrosis in (and increased size of) your left atrium.

I am not familiar with the drug combinations you describe.

May I suggest you ask mjames1 to give his opinion in this thread. He is very knowledgeable and is in the U.S. I’m sure he won’t mind if you send him a PM.

[SwayzeCrazy7777_ in reply to Rambler398]

I absolutely will reach out to mjames1

[AustinElliot]

Hi Swayze,

There are folks on here that are much more knowledgeable, but you are way to early in your recovery for it to be a 'failure'

You need to give yourself some time to heal, the blanking period is 3 months, I have seen lots of folks post that it can take 6 months or longer for a complete recovery. At 1 week the scars have not healed.

I hope after awhile you do see a benefit from your surgery.

[SwayzeCrazy7777_ in reply to AustinElliot]

Thank you so much for your reply and wealth of knowledge..