Had my first Ablation in September but 8-months later I have an episode waking me from sleep. I’m on the list for another Ablation.
My question is does it ever leave you and is Ablation just a short-term fix for the symptoms? Do successive Ablations make the heart stiff due to the scar tissue and does it effect you long-term?
Ablation isn't a cure, just a help to reduce frequency/intensity of symptoms as I understand it. It should really be referred to as "Ablation Therapy" which I wish I'd known when I first started out. I expected an ablation would solve everything and it is very hard to get out of the mindset.
Don't get me wrong, for a lot of people they have an ablation and then go for years AF-free, but then there have been the unlucky ones who have had multiple ablations and still having episodes of debilitating AF months apart.
In my own personal experience, the first 2 ablations gave me a while with no major problems between 2015/16 and I only needed further ablations in 2017 after it became quite severe and debilitating in the spring of that year.
I was told when the first one failed that as it was a "young heart" there was a lot of scar tissue and I may need 2/3 to get everything they needed. As with most operations, I think once you go in and start messing with something you're going to affect it to the point of potentially making it worse before it gets better!
I’m afraid no absolutes with AF and as Jedi mentioned, many, many variables.
We need to think of it as a conditon which will need lifelong management, whether or not we are symptomatic.
Present thinking it may indeed be a symptom of something else going on in your body, rather than a condition per se.
One of our members has a saying which I really took to - Heart out of rythm = body out of rythm.
No it never truly goes - I've had two reoccurances when I caught bad viruses which made my heart swell up - but my ablation certainly restored my quality of life as none of the rhythm control drugs worked on me. The areas being burnt are quite small compared with a heart attack so I wouldn't worry about it affecting the whole heart.
Me too, without the viruses. Second ablation was the charm...si far.
Had three and no AF the last ten years but I do still have other arrhythmias. There is no cure for AF just cessation of symptoms and improved quality of life. Mine have been worth every second.
Sorry to hear that.
'Lifelong management' seems a good phrase. I asked for an ablation not long after diagnosis (I was on drugs for a bit), and - after 2 years now - have been free of symptoms since, apart from ectopic beats. My expectation is based on what I have been told is the average effectiveness of an ablation of 5 years, maybe a bit more if you are otherwise healthy and look after yourself.
On this board, you hear of plenty of people who have multiple ablations, either immediately after or after a few years.
Best of luck!
I personally think it never goes away and at present there is no cure. I have had 3 ablations the first being the longest lasting i.e. 6 months. I had my 3rd in February 2017 which only lasted a few months since then have had many arrhythmia and ectopics albeit not as severe and I do get some respite in between. I think we have to accept that this is a lifelong condition and try to live with it. Sorry for the negativity 😕
My second ablation cured my flutter and left me AF free for 18 months until a hospital visit for an unrelated problem and some bad decisions about my meds from a hospitalist put me back in afib. Third ablation failed. I'm taking flecanaide which is helping control the afib but makes me tired.
Based on a lot of research, I understood that once you have AF the symptoms can be treated but AF can't be cured and that ablation is there to be used to relieve symptoms and in so doing improve quality of life and that particularly applies to those for whom medication is not effective or results in serious side effects.
So I am a little confused by this statement from a cardiologist in my area , if 'heart rhythm' is curable that must mean AF is curable ...
[quote =''The procedure, called cardiac electrophysiology and ablation, was introduced at the Royal last week for the first time ..........
..........The results of this procedure are fantastic – there is a very high chance that rhythm problems will be cured and patients should be home within just a few hours.”
... the Consultant Cardiologist at UHCW, said: “Heart rhythm problems are very common and the majority are curable with this procedure '']
eveshamobserver.co.uk/news/...
above post continued...
....on Monday I was asked to consider an ablation while attending an arrhythmia clinic one year on from diagnosis. The suggestion was made to me by a young assistant (I have never seen before) on behalf of my cardiologist whom I have never met or spoken to either.
I declined on the grounds that at this time my P-AF is being controlled by medication and lifestyle changes so my 'quality of life 'is good and symptoms minimal so I am reluctant to have a procedure which may reduce that quality of my life without actually curing me or removing my need for medication (anticoagulant and beta blocker which also controls my blood pressure ) .
If my episodes suddenly get worse again I have said I will reconsider my decision. I am aware my P-AF is likely to progress but that may not be for years so I am choosing to make the best of my feeling ok.
If I believed I could be 'cured ' I may not have arrived at the same decision, it is really difficult not knowing what is the truth for sure one way or the other.
This sounds promising:
Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation can be eliminated in 70-75 percent of patients with a single procedure. When the procedure is repeated in patients who still have atrial fibrillation after the first procedure, the overall success rate is approximately 85-90 percent.
IMPORTANT TO NOTE, THOUGH: If the atrial fibrillation has been persistent for more than 1-2 years, almost all patients will require more than one ablation procedure before a normal heart rhythm is restored.
umcvc.org/conditions-treatm...
Well, I must be one of the unlucky ones as 2 ablations for PAF but now permanent AF 12 months after second one performed. Sorry, can’t believe the 85 percent success rate from my knowledge of other patients on here and elsewhere. Also, I have been advised that a further ablation would be a waste of time !
Fortunately, my ablations do appear to have lessened the impact of AF on my life; though perhaps I should just thank the Bisoprolol which I consider my magic medicine.
Second ablation done last year and so far no recurrence of symptoms. Soltalol 80mg x2, and Rivaroxaban 20 mg once a day has kept me in rhythm .
Hi Barbara 
that is in the USA isn't it , is that treatment free or is someone is 'selling a service ' ....
Both my EP and Cardiologist confirmed the same.
Confirmed what...? Wasn't sure what you meant, sorry.
So sorry Barbara. My cardiologist and EP agree with the percentages given in that link you provided ie;
'Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation can be eliminated in 70-75 percent of patients with a single procedure. When the procedure is repeated in patients who still have atrial fibrillation after the first procedure, the overall success rate is approximately 85-90 percent".
As i understand, there is a higher rate of success if AFIB is paroxysmal and the age of the patient makes a difference as well ie the younger you are, the greater the chance of having a successful procedure.
A cardiologist said to me a couple of months ago: "The only certainty about AF is that it's unpredictable" How true.
Very true John
And if we use a bit of logic here,
...the causes of AF are still not fully understood
...if we remove the results of AF with an ablation but we haven't removed the cause what is to prevent it returning,
That is why a change of lifestyle/treating comorbidities is advocated to try to delay the progression of AF or to prevent its return following a procedure.
AF
AF issues.
AF returns
