Strokes

[123Abc123]

A friend said to me that having an ablation can actually cause a stoke. I can see that stopping my warfarin while having the process could result in a stroke but otherwise … Is there evidence to suggest this could happen? I would rather put up with the fast heartbeat than increase the chance of a stroke.

[RiderontheStorm]

That is why they look into your heart just prior to performing the ablation. You actually stay on blood thinner a period of time to prevent that before procedure. We are all told that. Very high tech now and the procedure is better than ever.

[Hidden]

A paper at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/2...

concludes that: “In patients with AF, there is a small periprocedural stroke risk with ablation in comparison to cardioversion. However, over longer-term follow-up, ablation is associated with a slightly lower rate of stroke.”

So it seems that there is a small risk initially, but you have slightly less risk subsequently. Assuming you are in the U.K. NICE have guidelines for when to undertake this sort of procedure; it is not undertaken unless the potential benefits outway the risks. You should probably have a talk with your doctor about your concerns.

[Hidden]

It’s good to be mindful of the risks of having an ablation but it is equally important to keep the risks in perspective. Obviously AF can cause clots to form in the heart and the activity involved in having an ablation can cause those clots to dislodge but not surprisingly, this is a risk the medics are very well aware of and consequently take major precautions to prevent it from occurring. Firstly, they will require you to confirm that you have followed your instructions regarding anticoagulation to the letter. Secondly, they will carry out a TOE which in simple terms is a camera down the throat to confirm there are no clots lurking which could cause a problem. In the extremely unlikely event a clot is still dislodged, can you think of anywhere you would rather be than in a hospital, wired up to every conceivable heart monitor and surrounded by heart professionals who know exactly what needs to be done and when. I’m not medically trained, but I’m due to have an ablation in 5 weeks time and although I wish I didn’t have to, I am reasonably confident that the risk of having a stroke during the procedure is minuscule....🙏

[Aqua_1 in reply to Hidden]

Good advice Flapjack. Thank you for putting things in perspective.

[Hidden]

There's a long list of unwanted things that go can wrong during ablations - and other procedures - and top of the list is death. It's very rare and I think strokes are too, as Flapjack says. Phrenic nerve damage seems to be the most common thing we hear of, also tamponade. But these are not frequent occurences and mostly we hear that there have been no major problems (or indeed minor ones) that the patient has been aware of and we sail through.

[BobD Volunteer]

Oh here we go again. My usual answer, Most risks explained are there to protect the hospital from legal action in the very unlikely event that anything did go wrong. If you read all the small print on any consent form you would never let a doctor within 100 yards of you!

[pottypete1]

Maybe my statistics will reassure.

7 ablations at the same hospital with 4 different EPs.

Non of the listed possible complications occurred.

Still here to tell the tale and would have another ablation if necessary.

Pete

[fnurd]

The good UK EPs have very low stroke rates nowadays. I believe that Richard Schilling (who did mine) has carried out thousands of ablations with zero strokes.

There is a very different story for some of the low volume EPs

in the USA.

[hock217]

I agree. My SVT caused by node to nowhere. No blood feeding my heart. Risk of stroke or heart attack very high. I'd have an ablation again in a heartbeat.