Ablation or not

[higgy52]

Have A F constant, had it for fair few years only discovered i got it when i was getting short of breath at night and thought it was Asmer till doctor gave me E C G. had 2 cardiovertions never lasted for more than few hours on amiodrone and Ramipril, my E P said if i have Ablation only 1 in 4 chance of it working, if i do have a Ablation and it dont work will i be worse off, if i have a second one would that be 50% chance of it working ?

[BobD Volunteer]

Sorry to say I doubt that it works that way HIggy. Be guided by your EP but I'm not sure that they would be keen on keeping on going in and trying to ablate when cardioversions are so short lasting. It does show that the rogue pathways are well established and there is only so much burning they can do.

[higgy52 in reply to BobD]

Thanks for that Bob

[Rellim296]

If you follow your argument, there would be 100% chance your 4th would work! It's not a question of an ablation working or not working. If it works, there would be no AF, but if that is not the case, there can still be significant improvement, even if the ablation hasn't stopped AF completely.

Your EP is best placed to assess your chances of success. Things can go wrong and leave you worse off, but if that puts you off, you possibly deny yourself an opportunity to improve.

[whiststev]

Do you mine me asking did you go on anticoag pre cardiovertion and how long was it until you came off .what is your chads vast score how have you been managing with permanent af .iv'e been having a episode now for 10 days worried that it will never stop

[higgy52 in reply to whiststev]

Forgot to say i am on warfarin. Been on it for nearly 2 years sorry for confusion, Dont under stand chad score, Still work full time as Gardener so A F is not to bad in day time,at night when i get thumping noise in ear and chest

[whiststev]

Thanks for your reply. Maybe you should consider the ablation, I was offered it 2 yrs ago but didn't fancy it but now I might . Got cardoversion in 4 weeks what was it like ?

[PeterWh in reply to whiststev]

A walk in the park.

[clanmags]

I have been in persistent AF for 4 months now and I have a first appointment at my cardiology unit for September 22nd. My Doctor says they will probably want to try cardioversion (and I need to stay on warfarin for this) but I'm worried that it won't work. Is there any chance that I can be shocked back into sinus rhythm after being in AF for so long?

By the way, I have sent an email to one of the EPs at Papworth....just waiting for a reply! September 22nd seems a long to wait.

[Coco51 in reply to clanmags]

I had a cardioversion after persistent AF for 4 months (October - Feb) and it certainly worked very well for 10 weeks - I had only one 4 hour burst of AF which reverted back to NSR spontaneously . It was a wonderful respite. The persistent AF started again a week before my ablation. I was very nervous about the ablation and maybe that played a part. Recovery from ablation is a bit up and down with one 10 day episode of AF but in NSR mainly at the moment 7 weeks later.

[PeterWh in reply to Coco51]

Great news. Hopefully it continues!!!

[Coco51 in reply to PeterWh]

That's so kind. Thank you. I'm not sure what to expect but I have seen your posts and taking the advice about resting. So thank you.

[PeterWh in reply to clanmags]

Clanmaggie. Don't worry at all if it doesn't work for long (whether that is measured in hours or weeks).

The key things are that firstly they can restore normal rthythm and secondly that you feel better in NSR. I was told that the vast majority of people who have had persistent AF for many months / years do not remain in NSR after a CV. Even those with paroxysmal AF which switches to persistent AF do not last!!!

I only lasted just over 24 hours in NSR after my DCCV

However as EP had been able to restore NSR and as I felt (much) better in NSR meant that I was a suitable candidate for an ablation.

[Annekw]

Hi clanmaggie,I had my first Cardioversion 72 hrs after my first attack of AF,this was in Tenerife,the EP said there the best chance of it working is sooner rather than later after going into AF!

Unfortunately it only lasted 72hrs (NSR ) only had one more since,still didn't last,I didn't fancy Ablation,so I just keep taking the tablets!!

[clanmags]

Thank you for clarifying things for me, folks.