How long does a ablation last for before af can return

[5morechristmases]

I'm due for an ablation in April this year. I'm 54 and looking for how long this procedure lasts for. And if I'm unlucky would I have to go through it again or would a pace maker be more successful in a long term cure.

[djbgatekeeper]

Not even your medical team who know your record and health details would be able to accurately forecast that unfortunately. Just make sure you lead as healthy a life as possible and avoid all known triggers, the rest is up to the big fellow 🙏

[5morechristmases in reply to djbgatekeeper]

Thanks for replying. Being diagnosed with af and spending two visits to hospitals does make you think long and hard about your life. I've made several changes in my life and hope to lead a long and normal life

[BobD Volunteer]

Impossible question to answer. After my thrid ablation I was ten plus years AF free but now getting some other arrhythias.

[Hidden]

Around the length of a piece of string.....could be longer but also might be shorter.......

[Hidden]

Your EP will have a more informed answer after the procedure. EPs apparently determine “success” by the absence of significant AF burden at 12 months. Success rates vary between 60-80%.

There is no long term cure. Most require further ablation(s). A pacemaker will rarely be used to treat the AF, but is standard for bradytachy syndrome: to allow drug treatment which causes bradycardia: and “pace and ablate” strategy if all else fails and symptoms are intolerable.

[5morechristmases in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for replying, very informative

[sue13hils]

Hi my first ablation lasted 9 years so that is good had 2nd ablation 2017 so hopefully be ok apart from the odd blips. Good luck

[5morechristmases]

Thanks for the positive reply

[Rainlee]

Wishing you a speedy and successful recovery. My first ablation gave me six years of freedom from afib. I will be having a second ablation this spring to treat atrial flutter. My EP said that the technology has improved a lot in six years.

[Marcus30 in reply to Rainlee]

Hi Rainlee,

im having a 2nd ablation for flutter after my ablation last July for fib!

can I ask about our flutter?

When mine starts it doesn't stop until I cardiovert.

That gives me about 3 weeks free.

My flutter is 120 and each day just drains me more, becoming nauseus and inappetant

Hoping the 2nd ablation works to stop it!

What are your symptoms like and is it permanent or comes and goes?

cheers,

marcus

[Rainlee in reply to Marcus30]

Marcus30 my flutter varies from 90 to 185 bpm and, yes, it makes me unable to function. My symptoms are fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, muscle weakness, no appetite, and, of course that awful ‘flopping’ feeling in my chest. To me it feels worse than afib because it lasts longer. My most recent event lasted the entire month of December before I converted. I’m currently on 150 mg metoprolol, 800 mg multaq daily and Pradaxa. I’m now in regular sinus rhythm, but the December episode was the fourth one I’ve had in a year and my EP said it is time for second ablation. I hope you can find relief for your flutter soon. It is debilitating.

[Marcus30 in reply to Rainlee]

Yes it is.

I only get 4-10 days of relief before flutter just starts and initially was lasting 3-7 days (4 episodes) but of recent times doesn't stop. I cant get info over whats worse for the heart, being in flutter for 2-4 weeks plus or repeat cardioversions. Ive now had 4 DCR's in the past 2 months.

Ablation (2nd) booked for late feb, EP's refuse to answer any questions until next consult which you can only get 3 months apart! (My question was should I repeat DCR after 'how many" days of being in flutter, or are those dcr's in themselves harmful? Whats worse for the heart, ongoing flutter or DCR's under GA each time). The ER just converts me each time I role up!

Also cannot get my EP question answered of what ablation procedure are we actually doing? RHS or LHS atria or both? (no questions, just do what the doc says!).

Agree entirely that the flutter is worse as fib happened then stopped after 3-12 hrs once fortnightly. Flutter not as bad 1st 12 hrs but slowly wears you down each day its still there.

Fingers crossed for both us, apparently ablation fairly successful for flutter!

Cheers.

[Gizmo1980]

Hello I had mine feb 2017 and since then had 1 episode of af and that was in May 2017 still in beta blockers but only 3.25 mg and been ok since. But still go to bed every night wondering if I will have to go to hospital in the night. Everyone is different lots of factors to look into. And mine was cryoablation where there freeze the vessels not burn them? It was scary for me and it's not a nice thing to go through as your awake it was after the op that was worse for me as my blood pressure kept dropping I felt awful I don't think I will have another one. Good luck x

[fairgo45]

It's in the lap of the gods

[cuore]

It depends whether you are in paroxysmal or persistent. If the AF got to persistent, it's nothing but a fighting battle and you will need several ablations. I really,really hope yours is paroxysmal.

[Hidden in reply to cuore]

I don't doubt that I will need another in the future, but it's coming up to 2 years since my first procedure for persistent AF, I'm calling that a success

[cuore in reply to Hidden]

Absolutely a success, especially with only ONE procedure. You are an absolute inspiration. How many months persistent were you? I was six months persistent for the first. I am looking at a third ablation as the first hardly lasted and the second only five months.

[Hidden in reply to cuore]

Persistent for 6 months, took amiodarone and had cardioversion which gave me 6 months NSR

Then 3 months in AF, cardioversion lasted a month, another chemical cardioversion that lasted a couple of months, then an electric cardioversion as the chemical one didn't work, again lasted about a month, then 6 months AF before ablation

[Tantaanna in reply to cuore]

I had three ablations in 20 months and I thought that was a record-I am on Amiodarone for twelve weeks- I don’t feel very positive on this one success- Sometimes I feel like they opened a can of worms that multiply. This time it was five new spots of fib and flutter- they say it looked normal but as it was examined they found the weird combo.

[Dinodog]

No one knows but you need to lower your risk factors and that will help tremendously. Lower stress, lose weight if needed, cut out or way back on alcohol, and generally stay away from all known triggers even after a successful ablation. Have an EP with thousands of successful complicated ablations under his belt perform the ablation if at all possible- worth traveling for if necessary- this plays a huge factor in outcomes. I too am thankful that science is cutting edge on this and will only improve- so hopeful that we will go longer between ablations as the years pass. Best of luck to you!

[Tantaanna in reply to Dinodog]

So how do you find the successful miracle worker EP-

[Dinodog in reply to Tantaanna]

I’m in the US and if you are here afibbers.org has lots of helpful info on docs-there are a handful of these top EPS- Dr. Natale in Texas being the foremost expert. Most people on healthunlocked seem to be in Europe- I’m told Bordeaux is the place over there-. I’m sure if you ask a new question on here asking for referrals to top docs there for this who have done loads of successful highly complicated ablations you will get helpful replies. You want someone who has gone thousands of complicated cases successfully and that is a small select group of docs. I realize healthcare options play a role, etc. best of luck with all of this.

[Tantaanna in reply to Dinodog]

Thank you and I had been on the afibbers site and read some blogs about a Dr in Texas and then somehow couldn’t find that page. I thought I had joined a group anyhow then I found this group. I am supposedly to have the best in Mpls and Clinic I am at. Traveling for follow ups out of state seems challenging. Thanks - I am hoping for advanced technology to continue to help us all. Thankful for what we have now. Hopeful I am granted the time to be with my grandkids and great grandkids should they come. I am otherwise in good health except for this fib/flutter

[Sarge1234]

I am sure there is a medical reason but before I was scheduled I tried a gluten free restricted diet and all my symptoms of afib were eliminated . I was sure I would need the ablation and really questioned how eliminating this would help . It’s worth a try if you haven’t .