Study concludes ablation beats drugs

[secondtry]

Hope this helps to make up your mind drjohnday.com/cabana-study/

[Hidden]

Although I am generally pro ablation, I am always cynical of these so called studies, especially from the States (and I love America). Something to do with the desire to line someone’s pocket! There again, I could be wrong....😚

[doodle68]

It doesn't do anything for my mind

I am happy to stick with drugs and lifestyle changes as long as my QOL remains reasonable rather than risk a procedure that may not work or worse still could make my situation worse.

If I get to the stage where my QOL is poor I will reconsider my options.

In the meantime, new procedures or drugs may become available.

[BobD Volunteer in reply to doodle68]

we live in hope.

[secondtry in reply to doodle68]

It doesn't change mine either, I agree with you but there are many here who have had an ablation and wondering whether they have done the right thing. The answer of course is no one will ever know, as we are all different and you have to make a choice without knowing how the alternative might have panned out in the future.

[doodle68 in reply to secondtry]

ST in the article it states...

[''No one wants to be on drugs for the rest of their life to treat a heart arrhythmia called atrial fibrillation........

.......Also, for those people doing well on medical therapy, who aren’t having any side effects, the CABANA Study tells us medications are just as good as ablation. Indeed, these are the results you are looking at if you just look at the intention to treat findings of the study.'']

It is my understanding that even if I had an ablation I would still have to take anticoagulants for the rest of my life and possibly beta blockers too because of comorbidities (I don't take any rhythm control drugs) so there would be no 'gain' there for me with an ablation.

We are indeed all very different and can only decide what is best for us taking into account our individual circumstances at the time

Studies like CABANA are useful but can't provide a definitive answer for everyone...

[perkman]

The results of this study are no surprise to me.

I had my ablation last July and been afib free almost 8 months and feel fantastic.

I wouldn't hesitate to go in for a second if needed. Hopefully won't need to.

[secondtry in reply to perkman]

That's fantastic, we need more positive reports, thank you for taking the trouble.

[Enjoy]

I don't like the 75 year quote. I am just so pleased my EP saw me as a person not as an 82 year old. Two years plus on from my ablation, I am just as active and happily minus the debilitating bouts of AF. Just the breathlessness from the heart failure.

Quality of life is what we all aim for.

[Mike11]

I tried every drug in the book and it got to the point where I was getting suicidal because they all failed to control my AF. One cryo-ablation later and I have my whole life back. Fit, healthy and taking several holidays a year, including clambering up mountains or sliding down them. If the report had stated anything else I was going to call it out as being utter nonsense just trying to save money. Whilst no operation or procedure is guaranteed 100 percent, my EP's record made me confident in having it done and I've never regretted it.

[Jhcoop55]

I am very skeptical about this study. It’s too pro ablation and over hyped. Also, it likely defines clinical success loosely and doesn’t take into account that the ablation has a limited shelf life in that mist patients get a recurrence of AFIB within 5 years. While the death rate from the procedure is low, the complications and potential scar damage with multiple procedure should not be dismissed.

Stating that drugs don’t work is a patently false statement as their efficacy is patient specific. My AFIB cane back 20 months after my second ablation and I suffered from major ectopic that made me miserable. Now I’m back on a good regimen of meds and feel better than I have since I started on the ablation track 2.5 years ago. Currently I gave no AFIB, no noticeable ectopic, no drug side effects etc and feel like I can live my life again. I’m also smart enough to know that meds over time may become less effective as the AFIB gets worse but for some patients, these drugs can hold off the symptoms indefinitely- hope I’m one of them

Having worked in the biotech industry and knowing something about clinical trial results, any study that shows only one side, can’t easily be believed. I’d reread the WSJ article for a more balanced viewpoint.

[mjames1]

Not everyone agrees with Dr. John Day's conclusion. In fact another Dr. John (John Mandrola) raises some very good questions about the study. Dr. John Day I believe is an EP, and that may be part of his bias as ablation has become a staple of the EPs practice.

Here are some links to look at. Before Cabana, there were a lot of questions about ablation. After Cabana there still seem to be.

Jim

forbes.com/sites/larryhuste...

drjohnm.org/2018/05/thought...

medpagetoday.com/meetingcov...