HEART ABLATION...SUCCESS OR FAILURE

[mommieslittlemancat]

Hi,

I'm a female, 64 year old. I had open heart surgery 15 years ago. I was diagnosed 5 years ago with Afib. I had a heart ablation several months later. IT WAS NOT A SUCCESS. I had another one last October & KNOCK WOOD...so far so good. Right after the surgery, i had a few probs. My heart rate was high & erratic, but they said it was because the heart was irritated & that happens a lot. Within 48 hours i was in afib. But again, my Dr. said that is normal & happens almost all of the time. Now NEARLY 3 months later, my blood pressure has been good & my heartrate has been great. No more episodes (so far) of Afib. Someone i know who drinks whenever & however much he wants, which is a big no no for people who have had an ablation says he has Afib sometimes. He claims that since it doesn't last for long, his ablation was still a success. I spoke to a friend of mine whos a Dr., not a cardiologist. I asked the Dr. if what the guy said was true. He said NO!! If someone DOES go back into afib after years of an ablation, just because the afib doesn't last a long time, DOESN'T mean the ablation was a success. If anyone has this issue & questions whether or not their heart ablation was a success, he or she needs to contact their cardiologist for their opinion! I DO know that you have to take care of your body after the ablation & you're not supposed to drink heavily, especially hard liquor. Wine, i'm not so sure about. I read you can have a glass of wine & it wont affect your heart. But, i'm not taking any chances. I am not drinking any booze! And it was really hard around the holidays.

I'd rather make sure i stay IN sinus rythm than enjoy drinking....

[icklebud99]

I react so badly to alcohol, I take a sip of wine and by the time I swallow and put the glass down (it goes right into the bloodstream) I feel my heart objecting then Bingo - I'm in AF. Its not worth it.

[BobD Volunteer]

There is no such thing as success or failure with ablation. ANY and ALL treatment for AF is only ever about improving quality of life (QOL) and there is no cure as such. How long that improved QOL lasts depends a lot on individuals and of course whether or not they accept that life style is a major influence amd make changes thereto.

For what it is worth ten years free for me was great and I consider that a good results but now things are starting to return and I may need a fourth soon.

[Tapanac in reply to BobD]

Hi bob,

I read somewhere that keep having ablations weakens the heart which I guess thinking about the poor old ticker keep being fired at with a laser makes a bit of sense. The reason for my saying is you with maybe your 4th and I have to have another monitor on next week and suspect [?] that the EP might suggest another ablation for me, I was a bit concerned. Any ideas please? Good luck for you

[jeanjeannie50]

I really hope that the dreaded AF is out of your life for good now.

I can understand your friend claiming he's cured from AF. Pessimists would call it denial, optimists the power of positive feeling. As long as he's on anticoagulants, lets hope this will keep him ok. We all so desperately want to be free from this hateful condition.

I'm certainly with you on abstaining from alcohol, for me that's a sure trigger.

Best wishes

Jean

[cycleman73 in reply to jeanjeannie50]

The power of the positive mind !!! = wonderful. Don't do negative; or rather, try not to.

We are human after all !

Take care jeanjeannie50