abalation or cardioversion

I have just been diagnosed with AF and awaiting an Abalation op once my INR is between 2-3. Has anyone had Carioversion and is it succesfull as reading other posts Abalation seems to have a high fail rate.

[BobD Volunteer]

DCCV (cardioversion) merely re-sets the heart to NSR if successful but is not a cure for AF and often the patient goes back into AF at some point. That can be hours , weeks or months but the useful thing is that it shows that they can be in NSR so the AF is not permanent and an ablation may be successful. Ablation aims to stop the AF but this may need to be repeated to provide a full relief. You mention reading here of failures and of course you must take into consideration the fact that people who have had successful ablations seldom hang around here.

Please note that ABLATION is not an operation it is a procedure and no surgeon is involved nor any operating theatre. It is done by an electrophysiologist in a catheter laboratory. DCCV is usually done by a doctor and anaesthetist in the anti room.

Hope that helps.

Bob

[Rellim296]

Hi John. Welcome to this wacky world of ours. I wouldn't say ablations have a high fail rate. They are often not completely successful. I think EPs tend to be cautious and do too little rather than go too far. I have had two and although I'm not AF free, I am considerably better off than I was and consider them successes although technically they have fallen slightly short of the mark. I would be much worse off if I had not had the second one. The first was somewhat tentative and done before AF had been diagnosed.

[Annekw]

Hi I had a DCCV in Tenerife(I went into AF suddenly whilst on holiday, heart rate was 180 !)

It lasted 48hrs in normal rhythm!

Two weeks ago I went for a second DCCV, y the time I was admitted,I was in normal sinus rhythm,so came home very happy!

Over this weekend I am fibrillating again! I see my Cardiologist on Thursday.

[Thorblen]

I had Cardioversion last May 2014 with good results, and after attending a course of basic excersises at my local hospital rehab I soon felt better and not of of breath, However, at the end of February 2015 my breathless condition returned, not as bad as before but not good. I am being monitored by the rehab nurse and now awaitng a visit to the local Cardio consultant at the end of this month.

Of course every patient is different and will react or respond to treatment in a variable way.

I hope this perhaps answers your questions

[beardy_chris]

The two are not really comparable: Cardioversion takes less than 15 minutes; Ablation usually takes several hours and is a much more significant intervention.

Both work in the right circumstances but neither is likely to be a permanent "cure".

[Bolander]

I had a cardioversion a few months ago and (fingers crossed) am still in NSR. However this was carried out because it turned out that I was suffering from Atrial Flutter rather than Atrial Fibrilation. This apparently made me a suitable candidate for Cardioversion.

[jedimasterlincoln]

I have had 5 DC cardioversions, in the space of as many months, back the Autumn of 2013. The first 2 were scary, the next 3 were routine. It was the only thing that would take my HR down and back to normal.

On all but one occasion, I was taken into theatres, anesthetic room, 1 doc 1 nurse 1 anesthetist. They slap some defrib pads on, give you heavy sedation and shock your heart. Normally 1 shock is enough, but they can do 3. If it hasn't reverted by 3, they stop. I only ever needed the full 3 shocks on the first occasion. As I said, the first couple of times it's scary stuff. This is your heart they're stopping, not trimming your toenails.

I've also had experience of ablation. The first one failed, the second one has (I hope) been successful and I have been symptom free for months now (despite having a prolonged recovery from number 2 and a rogue eptopic beat for 3 months post op)

I found this forum invaluable. There are lots of little quirks to the procedures, the conditions, the symptoms and the treatments people get that aren't always as cut and dry as you read on the leaflets and interweb.

DC Cardioversions - I got burn marks on my chest from the pads (quite bad from the occasion I needed 3 shocks)

Ablation number 1 - I fainted in the cath lab due to truck loads of Medazolane then bled profusely from the entry point a good few hours after the procedure resulting in massive bruising and 18 hours in bed not moving.

Ablation Number 2 - I managed to stay awake longer, suffered quite badly with the burning sensation in the chest during the isolation, and due to the previous complications was flat on my back for longer than I would have liked post-op.

Other people have good/bad experiences that no institution would ever fit on an information sheet - and in my opinion - there's no such thing as a stupid question. So ask away.